Cavalry Academia
by The Renegade Kingslayer
Summary: A new take on high school students with supernatural powers where an old threat resurfaces to take revenge on humanity and the legends that protect it. An AU similar to the anime Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry (SYOC). Rated M for language (at the moment).
1. How it all began

20 years ago, there were 6 knights that fight against a dark force that threatened the Hall of Origins and the word itself using the souls of Pokemon and powers bestown upon them by Arceus to help combat the darkness. It was a long grueling battle, one that had Giratina and Darkrai victims of mind control, eventually freeing them and returning. As the being was eventually subdued and knocked out, it was the form of Shadow Lugia. It was a legend even among legends, a Lugia from another dimension that had succumbed to darkness that shouldn't have existed in this world. As a solution, Arceus and the other legends sealed Shadow Lugia and sent the dark legend into a void, imprisoned for all eternity.

The six knights were honored as they returned to their own world, praised for their accomplishments. They all lived in the same region, each Knight was the best warrior from the six cities on the large continent. As they returned to their respective towns, they were deemed royalty, eventually training other Knights. Eventually, they decided to have schools created in order to train more worthy Knights as a strange influx of evil plagued the Ardentium region, which had been previously unnamed. Every year, they would host a Battle Festival where the six schools would compete to determine who was the best school for that year until the next event. It had many endorsements and was publicly televised as the Spirit of Arceus was in attendance. There was one school that was deemed the strongest in the past, but in the last couple of years hadn't been doing well. That was Alternium Academy, led by the Knight Lucy Albarez, the headmaster of her school. She stared out the window with a grin on her face. This year, she had a new batch of promising students and a new selection process to find six students worthy enough to send to the Battle Festival this year.

Meanwhile, a male student had been training in his own secluded area in a forest, his eyes closed as the sun began to rise. As he stood, holographic targets spun around him at varying speeds, the sunlight hitting his face. A flurry of punches and kicks were unleashed, some of his attacks too quick for the normal eye to see. There was a timer, stopping once all the targets were considered broken. In total, there were 20 targets; he had cleared it in 3.4 seconds. He clenched his fist as he looked upward to the sky. This semester, he wouldn't hold back anymore and show them what he was capable of.

Suddenly, a hooded figure dropped down out of nowhere, landing softly on the ground and walked towards the male. "Meteos, are you sure? It's been a a decade since you've last used your powers. They've most likely grown as you have, but will you be able to handle it?" Its voice was ominous, devoid of any indication of gender. The person tossed an object at Meteos, who turned to smirk at his mentor, catching the item: a key attached to a keychain. His reply was a simple nod, earning a chuckle from his mentor. "So be it. But at the first sign of things going beyond your control, I'll have to step in." With that, the figure disappeared. Meteos smiled, placing the key around his neck, hiding it underneath his shirt. Running a hand through his brown shoulder length hair, his azure colored pupils stared at the sky once more as he walked to Alternium Academy to prepare for orientation. Even though he was the lowest ranked student in school, he did volunteer to help and he wasn't one to go back on his word, especially for a member of the student council. Placing his glasses on his face, he raced towards the orientation.

 **Meanwhile**

Headmaster Albarez had left to pick up a special guest from the train station nearby in her personal limo. Luckily, they had picked her up at a different location since this particular student hailed from another city, a daughter to one of the other Knights. Paparazzi had caught wind of her arrival and crowded the entrance, but there were always backup plans when it came to Lucy. She chuckled as she sat across the princess while looking out the window, watching the crowd pass by in the transport. "So, I assume your father didn't handle you enrolling to my school all to well, huh?" The girl had crimson hair that fell to her waist and violet eyes, along with a set of features that made her into every guy's dream girl: a cute face, an attractive body and very intelligent. To top it all off, she was going to be a first year at Alternium.

The student giggled in response. "He should be reading my letter about now. I wanted to go to a school that would treat me as an equal not like royalty just because my father fought along side you. I hope that makes sense somewhat." Lucy couldn't help but smile at her explanation, nodding in agreement. "As for orientation, do I really have to go? I'm sure that I've already got an understanding of the rules."

"Yes, you do. You're the one that said you wanted treatment like everyone else, remember?" Lucy burst out laughing at the girl, who facepalmed herself after realizing her blunder. "Besides, we do something differently around here that where you're from." The limo approached the school, pulling through the entrance gates as the vehicle pulled into the staff parking lot, the chauffeur assisting them out. "Head inside, there are signs everywhere leading to the auditorium."

The school was a large campus, practically rivaling an amusement park with how many buildings there were, ranging from dorm rooms to different facilities for training or public fights. The main building however was the most extravagant, with marble floors in every single hallway. As the female student walked inside with the other incoming 1st years, she heard many people talking about how good she looked. Smiling to herself, she finally found the auditorium taking a seat amongst the other students as the lights began to dim once everyone was seated.

I hope you enjoyed this mix of a prologue/1st chapter. And Don't worry, I intentionally didn't describe the headmaster or give out the name of this new female. Now this may come as a surprise to you, some of those who may know of me, but now I have joined the SYOC movement. So down below, there is an OC form that I came up with. It will have you choose between one aspect of your character or the other, but it's self explanatory.

 **OC Form**

 **Name:**

 **Age:**

 **Gender:**

 **Year: (1st year through 4th year)**

 **Rank: (A-D)**

 **Personality: (try to be as descriptive as you can)**

 **Appearance: (Again, lots of detail)**

 **Clothing: (Students will wear uniforms for regular school activity and battles. However, there will be moments when they won't be on campus and are allowed to wear regular clothes.)**

 **Weapon: (Anything that isn't a firearm or gun related. Multiple weapons are acceptable, but must have some drawback to or form into one weapon as a whole, and because not everyone can do what I'd like to call multi wield, it will be limited. The maximum is three, so consider it like a fraction of the power of one weapon of all three are used, but only using one out of those three retains its full strength. Also, describe your weapon(s) too, there are many swords but not all of them are the same. Because of this, give said weapon(s) a name, whether it be a creative name or a title.)**

 **Weapon augments: (Based on the Pokemon soul you pick, generally augmenting your attacks based on your typing. Should you not choose one, you can have the previous "fraction clause" nullified if you have multiple weapons or have an augment that increases the strength of a single weapon)**

 **Pokemon soul: (Your inner spirit animal if you will, though anyone who opts not to have one will not be at a disadvantage.)**

 **Appearance after transforming: (Describe what he or she looks like after activate their spirit animal, whether they become gijinka or human but wear an outfit signifying what Pokemon they are, including any asthetic weapon changes. Let it be known that the legendaries are not, and I repeat, NOT, up for grabs.)**

 **Skills:**

 **Background: (I'm sure you know the drill, put your heart into it)**

 **Reason why he/she wants to become a Knight:**

 **Family: (Not necessary but would be nice)**

 **Likes:**

 **Dislikes:**

 **Desired traits in friends:**

 **Desired traits in romance:**

 **Affiliation to my OC: (Friend/Rival/Enemy. If you have a sudden desire to have your OC become Meteos's sibling, leave the family section blank, though I'm only taking the two OC's and they must be first year.)**

 **Additional info:**

 **Favorite Pokemon: (Doesn't necessarily have to be the one your OC is)**

 **Now, I'd like to please ask that you send the forms in PM, I repeat IN PM. Just as a reminder, should there be any confusion about wherefore send them (for some reason) but also due to the fact that reviews are meant to be reviews. Speaking of which, please try to be as constructive with your critism as you can, I'd prefer not to get lit up like a fireplace. Back to the subject at hand, initially the OC spots will be limited just for my sanity, but don't think that it'll be the end of that, as there will be more opportunities for your character to appear in later stages of the plot of they don't get picked. On top of that….well, I don't wanna spoil it, so you'll just have to wait until next chapter to find out. Take care, and Carpe Diem.**


	2. An Orientation and a Brawl

**I didn't imagine I'd do this well, and I do hope that it will improve as the story proceeds. As a heads up, I have received OC submissions, and a good portion of you know who got accepted, but only a couple spots are left on the table before my next phase starts. What that consists of is for me to know and for you to find out eventually. Anyway, here's chapter 2.**

All the first year students had been varying ages, some older than others, but that had been how the school worked. Every student was required to wear their uniform, which was a white jacket with the school's insignia, three swords in the shape of an "A" with a shield in the background, complemented by black pants for the males or black skirts for the females. However, the longer a student remained there, they would recieve different color jackets. Once the auditorium had gone silent as the room itself began to change; the seats began to encircle the stage and the floor began to rise up as the platform began turning into a grassy battlefield. Many gasps were heard as this happened, while some stayed calm and just watched, knowing full well that this wasn't an auditorium but one of the school's many fighting arenas. With the seats being elevated, the field was surrounded on all sides as two doors from the east and west side of the arena floor opened as students began walking out, some of them recognizable from the previous Battle Festival team that Alternium Academy sent to represent them. Headmaster Albarez soon followed them, stepping in the middle the of the field as the arena lit up. Her blue hair shone in the light as she smiled to her audience, clearing her throat before she spoke into the mic she held. "Hello, there new students. I am one of the six Knights who fought to save this world and the legendary Hall of Origins. You may know me as The Duelist, Lucenia Albarez, but please refer to me as Headmaster Albarez. I'd like to welcome you to Alternium Academy." There was applause that followed her introduction.

"Now, unfortunately the president of the student council and the strongest student of the school couldn't make it today as she had to take care of an urgent meeting, but you will see her another time. I would however like to address a couple things, the first being the varying age group. As you might have noticed, not all of you are 14 years old. That is because the six Knights decided to recently have exhibition matches between the schools year round for older students or students of at least C rank as a way for other organizations to scout out talent for jobs. I won't go into detail, but long story short, don't let someone's age intimidate you unless they have proven to you otherwise, which brings me to my next point: battling. To become a full fledged knight, you must train and get in a lot of experience from battling others. Because of that, we do allow scheduled mock battles or have school tournaments, one of which is how we pick out a team to send to the Battle Festival. However, there are some differences between the two battles. Mock battles are meant to be spar oriented and weapons should be on what we call Phantom mode, where instead of inflicting actual damage it'll drain a person of their energy. School sanctioned fights for tournaments however prepare you for the real world, where all attacks are considered dangerous." As an example, she took her sword off her waist and slid her finger against the blade, causing a small cut as small drops of blood hit the ground. "See? Even the slightest misstep can cost you, and that's the reality of what you're attempting to become. So because of this, we ask that you not attempt to cheat and set up traps on the field beforehand or attempt to kill or dismember another student. Cheating results in disqualification and trying to kill or maim another student with malicious will result in expulsion or suspension with adult supervision." She took out a handkerchief, wrapping it around her finger.

"Now, if you check the inside left pocket of your uniform jacket, you should have a box that was sealed, only able to be opened by an authorization code. Right about now, you should be able to open it, since you've been in this arena for the allotted time." Many shocked gasps could be heard as there was a smart phone inside each box in a phone case with the school's insignia on the back of it. "That cost a lot of money to get you all so try not to lose them. Now with those phones, you'll receive messages from the school about when and where battles are and who'll be fighting though that only really applies to the selection tournament. Well, since that clears up everything, so why don't I introduce our two students who volunteered to fight each other just as an example of how skilled our students are." The two volunteers approached the center of the field, nodding at the headmaster.

"We have Alyssia Blake, a 17 year old second year and one of the six students who represented us in the festival last year." Alyssia waved at the crowd, hearing a large applause. She had long blonde hair, straight until it reached her neck then becomes curly from then on, stopping at her tailbone. Her dark ocean blue colored pupils complemented her white, almost pale skin tone, mentally giggling as she looked into the crowd, seeing some of the new male students falling for her athletic yet voluptuous figure accompanied by her short arms and long slender legs, but particularly her impressive bust which she contained in her clothes, albeit the top button of her white jacket was undone.

"Next, we have another second year who is the same age. He didn't do too well last year, unfortunately holding the lowest overall rank but all his fights have been close, honing incredible skill. Please welcome Meteos Desmond." There were few claps, a couple of the new students chuckling at him but he clenched his fist, trying to hold in his anger. He took off his glasses, putting them in a shirt pocket while running his hand through his hair as his azure pupils looked over his opponent. Meteos held his chest, feeling the key that has mentor had given him. He knew he couldn't hold back anymore, but there was one person in attendance that would probably have questions for him. It would be a last resort, but it would be risky, maybe even make him a target for challengers.

"Such a scary glare, but it's empty if weakling like you tries to intimidate me." Alyssia smirked, her true colors showing. An angel on the outside but a devil on the inside, Alyssia was said to be manipulative but Meteos hadn't thought it was true. "I hope this doesn't end too quickly, I want this to be enjoyable somewhat."

"Easy for you to say when you couldn't even hold your own against the student council president. Remember when she wiped the floor with you?" Meteos shot back, causing Lucy to chuckle at that. Alyssia's eyes widened slightly, glaring back at him.

"I was gonna go easy on you, but you need to learn how to speak to your superiors. Instead of a spar, why don't we make this a full blown match since you're so sure you can beat me?" Alyssia smirked, challenging him.

"I've got no problem with that." Meteos cracked his neck, getting into a fighting stance. Headmaster Albarez nodded and a large screen appeared from the arena wall displaying the two combatants faces and their ranks with a large VS separating them. A loud airhorn sounded, and the match began with Meteos rushing towards Alyssia, not giving her time to even call out her weapon, forced to block his right hook. Just as she was about to attempt a counterattack, she jumped back, evading a quick kick. "What's wrong? Can't handle my attacks to use your weapon?" Meteos taunted as he used his speed to close the distance, trying to keep Alyssia on the defensive.

Alyssia closed her eyes momentarily as she harnessed her inner beast, stomping on the ground, causing a small quake to disrupt Meteos, forcing him to retreat slightly. "Fine, I'll admit you're better than I thought, so I'll fight you with my full strength." She gave him a smile as two swords erupted from the ground, one was white with a green trimming while the other was green with a red trimming, both of them around 30 inches in length. "You better get your weapon out or else this'll be a bloodbath."

Meteos grinned in return as a long sword in its sheath materialized in front of him, grabbing it from the air but didn't draw his blade, mainly due to the tight bonds on the hilt that prevented him from doing so. "Push me far enough and I'll draw my blade." As intimidating as his sword was, it wasn't as significant as the dark aura it gave off.

"Don't get cocky." Alyssia warned him as she jumped high into the air, slashing both her blades downward, only to be blocked by his sheathed sword. The sound of metal hitting metal resounded through the arena, the students watching in awe as Meteos and Alyssia seemed equally matched. Backing off slightly, Alyssia ran at Meteos, closing the distance quicker than he had, slashing upward with one blade. Meteos dodged the attack as Alyssia used her other blade help adjust her body, strafing behind his to slash at his back. Quickly, the male turned around to defend the attack, pushed back as his shoes skid across the ground. "Not too bad, but I didn't miss."

Meteos looked at his jacket, noticing that she had gotten in a couple slashes without feeling them actually come in contact. When he looked back up, Alyssia already began her next attack, slicing at his legs, which he blocked with his sword, parrying the attack. Wide open, he swung his sheath, hitting the right side of her torso. Alyssia had the wind knocked out of her slightly, regaining her breath as she retreated. Her body soon became encased in light as she retained her clothing, but her body was different: she gained a tail with three rhombus shaped spikes on the end of it, a couple of antennae on her head, and a pair of wings, looking like a humanoid Flygon. Her hair grew longer, changing its blonde color to green with red stripes and her nails became sharper. Without a word, she took flight with her draconic wings, flying towards Meteos with a speed even faster than before. Meteos tried to dodge out the way, her attack cutting the right side of his face and his right arm. "Too fast for you? That's what happens when I don't hold back. You best surrender unless you wanna get hurt more." Alyssia taunted, landing on the ground and pointing one of her blade at him.

Meteos took off his jacket, revealing his sleeveless shirt he had on underneath and the toned muscles on his arm. "Well, why don't I stop messing around as well?" He took the key from around his neck as it began to glow. A seal began to glow on his chest through his shirt, projecting a holographic lock. Sticking the key inside the lock and turning it, both the key and lock disappeared as his own body began to glow; however, once the glow disappated, Meteos hadn't changed. "For 5 years, I was forced to seal my power because it was too rampant. But now, you'll be the first to experience what I'm truly capable of."

"You really expect me to believe that? You're bluffing!" Alyssia launched herself towards Meteos, spinning her body to use her tail as an attack. What looked like she made contact with his body was only an afterimage as Meteos stood behind her. Even the headmaster looked in surprise, as she hadn't seen such speed in a long time. The entire crowd was sitting on the edge of their seats not expecting such events to occur. "So what? You're faster than before, but that means nothing." Alyssia flew in the air as she began picking up speed, circling Meteos as she sped towards him, fully intent on finishing him off. Meteos ran towards her attack, grabbing the hilt of his sword, picking up speed as well as the two went past each other, their backs to their opponent. Everything had gone silent as they stood still, Meteos eventually falling to one knee as he coughed up some of his blood. "You were better than I expected, but it's all over now." Alyssia giggled in victory only to suddenly widen her eyes as cuts began covering her body, dropping her blades. Even with her tough scales, he seemed to cut through them with ease as she collapsed to the ground, reverting to her human form and her weapons disappearing. And to make matters worse, he didn't draw his blade and used Phantom mode to completely drain her energy.

Meteos stood back up, stabbing his sheathed sword in the ground as he wiped the blood from his face. There was a roar of cheers as Meteos had surprised everyone in beating one of the top students of the school. He walked over to Alyssia, helping her to her feet. "Hey good match, Alyssia. Had you been a split second faster, you probably would have won. And I didn't mean any disrespect by using Phantom mode, but I didn't want to chance causing harm with that technique. But I'm sure you'll want a rematch to kick my ass, so I'll look forward to it." He smiled at her, offering her a handshake.

Begrudingly accepting his handshake, Alyssia shook his hand and walked away, glaring back at him with a look of revenge. "Congratuations on winning that match, Meteos. A very impressive display of power and it makes sense now why you never transformed before." Headmaster Albarez walked up behind him smiling, only saying that last part loud enough for him to hear. "There we have it, students. This is the conclusion of the orientation, but if you wanted to watch more fights, the other students here would gladly do so as some of them are actually scheduled. But feel free to go have lunch in our cafeteria or if you've got settled into your dorms, go out into the city and eat in a restaurant." She handed Meteos his jacket, walking towards one of the arena doors to head back to her office.

Meteos looked upwards in the stands as some of the students began to leave, running up the wall of the battlefield, vaulting over the railing and landing on the floor, his jacket hanging from his shoulders he walked up the aisle stairs. "N-nice work out there." He heard a familiar voice behind him, turning around to see a male first year student, around the age of fourteen. "Your last name is Desmond? S-So is mine, but I've never heard of your name. Are you one of my cousins perhaps?" He was a short kid, looking up at Meteos with his dark brown hair that covered his ears and a couple strands dangling past his eyebrows. Despite his size, he was as fit as the rest of the kids his age that had gotten in. Bearing large round eyes with brown pupils, a fair skin tone and a heart shaped face along with two moles on his left cheek gave him a unique appearance. It was quite obvious he was a bit shy and nervous but worked up enough courage to approach him.

Meteos began walking away, motioning for the student to follow. "I can't believe that you're still so shy after all this time Rey. Hell, you don't even remember your older brother." Meteos chuckled as he turned around to rustle his little brother's hair. "I never thought you'd be here, so that's a surprise." Rey's face lit up, pushing Meteos' hand off his head. "And by the way, I go by Meteos now, so no need to call me by my birth name."

"Why not? You think dad's still upset with you abo-" Rey asked, confused by his reasoning only to be interupted by Meteos.

"I don't want to talk about that right now, okay? Just go and get settled in. I'm sure you've got new friends to make to work on not being shy right?" Meteos began walking out of the arena heading outside, his wounds no longer bleeding and had closed up already. "I'll catch you later, okay?" Rey nodded, watching his older brother walk off. Something happened to him, and I intend to find out, Rey thought to himself, heading to the main building to figure out what he would eat.

It was late afternoon as Meteos sighed, making it back to his dorm room after climbing 4 stories of stairs, one that was close to the staircase and arguably the largest room. Apparently, while building the complex, the headmaster had requested that a larger room be made for private use, but then decided to open the room up after an influx of new students, giving the room to Meteos on day one. It was more than enough room for one person, having a master bedroom and bathroom, a kitchen with state of the art appliances, and a living room. First thing Meteos was gonna do was plop on the couch and relax. The strain he put on his body after using his soul during the battle with Alyssia after such a long time caused him a bit more harm than good. Using his keycard, he opened the door only to be met by the appearance of a crimson haired female student wrapped up in a towel, fresh out the shower. Their eyes met, both of them blushing as Meteos had shut the door already. "Uh….hi? Look, before you do anything rash, this is my dorm room since the keycards only grant access to their assigned rooms, and I'm guessing you're my roommate. I'm just gonna walk out and let you get dressed."

Surprisingly, she calmly nodded while still blushing, running to the bathroom as Meteos stepped back outside. Shutting the door behind him, he sighed and sat on the ground, trying to process what just happened. His blush had left his face, just in time as Meteos heard a group of footsteps approaching him. Looking up as soon as they surrounded him, he saw a group of guys led by Alyssia, most likely her fan club, but little did they know that they were just her pawns. "I'm not sure what this is about but can we please not? If it's about challenges or ganging up on me and saying that you were holding back and how I wasn't worth your full power, I'm already dealing with something, and this really isn't the best time." Meteos looked at them, various expressions on their face, turning to Alyssia, playing the damsel in distress almost perfectly.

"I'm not even worth your time? You hurt my feelings, Meteos." She whimpered, giving Meteos a quick smirk as her tools comforted her. One of the males stepped forward, jabbing his finger into Meteos' chest.

"Don't act high and mighty just because you caught her off guard. I'll kick your ass myself if you don't show her some respect."

"No, let me at him. He thinks he's tough shit, and I'll set him straight."

Not everyone was there with Alyssia's group, but the chiming in was starting to get annoying. Meteos clenched his fist in anger as he spoke, his voice, although calm, seemed to silence everyone. "Alyssia, call off your dogs, I know what you're here for." He handed her an envelope. "Now, please go before shit hits the fan." Alyssia smirked at him, giving her posse a signal as they left, although Meteos though he saw something purple on Alyssia's neck, turning his attention to the three people standing before him, two of whom he had seen before. It was gonna be a long talk.

 **Meanwhile**

There was nothing but darkness as Shadow Lugia was sealed away in a void, unable to escape. Suddenly, a hooded figure appeared out of nowhere, followed by six others. "Sir, is this who will give us enough power to stop those Knights?" One of the people asked the ringleader, no other facial expression feature other than a toothy grin could be seen as its face was shrouded in darkness. In its hand was an orb that projected images of the future, what would come should they succeed in their tasks: a world taken over by dark corruption and an interdimensional conquest that would span different worlds and universes, becoming unstoppable.

"Those Knights think that they defeated Astanoth long ago, but little did they know that I was a part of his backup plan. Soon, should everything go smoothly, we will take down all those who oppose us, capture and make the Hall of Origins our base of operations and proceed to take over whatever we see fit." The figure maniacally laughed. "And any Knights in training will succumb to mind control and join our ranks. But don't worry, I'll make sure we leave some to take your revenge against." A blinding light shone, and the Shadow Lugia seemed to wake up, it's eyes glowing as it stared at something, bringing the intruder maddening images of in depth carnage that would be seen in the future.

Meteos woke up screaming, covered in sweat as his red headed roommate comforted him and tried to calm him down. "Shhh, it's okay. It's just a dream." She said, giving him a hug, but was just as frightened as he was. His body was trembling in fear and it wouldn't stop. Was it truly a dream, or something more?

 **Who is this hooded figure and what do they hope to accomplish? Will this attractive female roommate be revealed? Who were the three people Meteos talked to? All of these might be answer, but I have no clue when...well I do, but that's beside the point. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next one.**


	3. The hunter and its prey

**Yeah, this took longer than I expected for reasons not even I understand, but I hope you enjoy.**

It was the next morning as the digital clock read 7:00 am. Meteos woke up nuzzling his pillow, groggily pushing his face into the fabric as his hands squeezed at the corners of it. However, he noticed a sudden sound coming from above him, slowly waking up as he came face to face with Minerva Regalia, his crimson haired roommate with his head in her large bosom, his hands squeezing each plump mound. With a heavy blush on both their faces, they stayed in that position as they began to both fully wake up. "Uh...morning. W-Whatcha doing in my bed?" Meteos asked suddenly, admittedly comfortable where he was. After their introduction yesterday, he knew that if her father found out about this, he'd most likely have his head.

"Well, last night after your nightmare...I th-thought it would be best if I held you while you slept, and you seemed to calm down. It kind of reminded me of what my mother would do for me when I was younger and comfort me." She giggled, running one of her hands through his hair, patting his head. "Speaking of which, you talk in your sleep...you were muttering something about your mother as I held onto you. Is that something personal?" Minerva asked, looking down at Meteos. Her soft eyes stared at the male resting his head in her chest, trying to figure him out.

Nodding his head, Meteos kissed Minerva on the cheek as he got up. "Thanks for helping me out last night, and I'll eventually tell you about the whole 'mother' thing. Well, feel free to get cleaned up first if that's what you want to do. I'll just lay in bed for a couple more minutes." Smiling at her, he rest his head on his own pillow as Minerva took a change of clothes and towels with her as she walked to the bathroom. While he looked at the ceiling, Meteos chuckled at his earlier gesture. He had kissed her cheek without a second thought and she didn't seem to mind. I'll have to thank her sometime, he thought. Though, that dream felt so real...like it wasn't something in the past or the future. Feeling a slight chill travel down his spine, he shuddered, unsure about how to process it. In addition to that, yesterday was pretty hectic after his confrontation with the three students that needed to speak with him personally.

 **Flashback: Yesterday**

One of the students stepped forward, handing Meteos an envelope with the seal of the student council on it and walked off before Meteos could get a good look at the messenger, putting the letter in his pocket. The other student was female, giving Meteos a subtle nod as she too left him alone with his final guest that stood before him. "Why didn't you tell me, Meteos? I-I thought we were the same." The student's name was Javier Santos, and he grew acquainted with Meteos when they met last year at the start of the fall term. Despite being a year younger than him, Javier was practically Meteos' closest friend as he struggled through his battles and somewhat outcast by the other students. He stood at the height of 5'11, with a light tan skin tone that complemented the visible well toned muscles on his athletic physique. He had short, thick messy raven black hair with gold highlights in the front that is combed over the right side with a couple of bangs falling over the right side of his face and stormy blue eyes, which were a mix between blue and gray.

"Look, I would have told you but you had some...feelings towards some Knights with abilities that I, at the time, just went with it." Meteos sighed as he walked towards Javier, placing his hand on his shoulder only to have it brushed off. "How the hell was I supposed to tell you that my powers were sealed? I didn't want you thinking I was holding back or I was crazy and end up losing a friend."

Javier glared at him, turning his back on Meteos. "I've know that you were hiding something but I thought nothing about it. I can tell you're sincere, but you and I aren't training together anymore. For all I know, you've just been trying to study me and try to counter my technique." He sighed, looking back at Meteos. "You want to earn that friendship back? You'll have to fight me for it. Don't worry, I wouldn't dare hold back against you but I expect you to do the same for me, rival." He smirked, walking down the hallway. Meteos simply sighed as he went back into his room, head towards the couch and sitting back. He was afraid something like that would have happened and now he had another person to face along with whoever saw his fight. Suddenly, Meteos felt the couch shift slightly as he looked over to see his new roommate dressed in her pajamas. He gave her a wave as he looked outside the window, the sun already setting. The girl's crimson hair seemed to complement the indigo color in the sky.

"Sorry about being so...indecent when you walked in. This room reminded me of mine since it's so spacious. My name is Minerva Regalia, the 'Princess' of the Helio-Magnus region." She smiled at him, stretching her arms. "Though, consider yourself lucky that my father wasn't around because he would have had quite the words for you." As she looked at Meteos, the expression plastered on his face was that of shock, causing her to giggle a bit. "Relax, it was an accident on both our parts, but I'm gonna need you to take a shower before we resume our conversation." Meteos smirked as he headed to the bathroom, taking the hint so graciously given to him by Minerva.

 **Meanwhile**

Rey quickly adjusted to the school schedule as most of his classes were later in the day. Though the orientation was somewhat slow, he moved into his dorm room fairly quickly yesterday, but his roommate wasn't scheduled to come in until later today due to some transportation conflict which Director Albarez was more than understanding to. Already dressed in training gear, he made his way to one of the nearby training facilities. Since almost every building required ID access, it allowed for late night training or battles to occur whenever necessary. Nodding to one of the staff at the front desk, he walked in to see many students either sparring against each other or working out with the various equipment.

Suddenly, Rey bumped into someone by mistake while he was deciding what to do first and fell to the ground. "S-Sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." Rey said shyly, looking up at the person who he bumped into. It was an older male with mid length white hair that framed his face with three particular strands that were spiked backwards, one above each ear and the third on top of his head. His red eyes looked down at Rey from his 6'5 height, extending his left arm, which had the sleeve of his uniform removed, to help the first year off the ground.

"Hey, don't worry about it but watch where you're going next time. Not everyone is as nice as me, and 70% of the time people look for an excuse to throw a punch." Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair as he lazily looked around the large facility. "The name's Leon Age, nice to meet a newbie actually taking his training seriously, but then again I'm not one to talk." Leon said, chuckling to himself.

Dusting himself off, Rey cleared his throat as he mentally sighed in relief, lucky that he ran into a mild mannered person. "I'm Rey Desmond, and I've had an enjoyable stay here so far. I thought I might as well start off training before it got crowded, but I guess many people had the same train of thought." Crossing his arms, he walked over to a nearby wall and leaned against it. Momentarily lost in thought, Rey thought about who else he'd meet and what his roommate would be like.

"You're Meteos' brother? I never thought he'd have a sibling go here, but I'm sure you both come from a wealthy family. Most students here are either from wealthy families or here on recruitment scholarships." Leon remarked, his red eyes glowing slightly brighter as he began to tie his hair up. "Just a heads up, he's made a lot of people anxious to fight him now due to his recent win, some now seeing him as a worthy opponent but most of them are to get revenge for Alyssia. Some of them might even go after you to force him to fight, so be on the look out." Cracking his knuckles, Leon made his way over to a punching bag, leaving Rey to his own devices. However, little did they know someone overheard their conversation and would take action on it.

Back with Meteos and Minerva, time had passed as they were both dressed in regular clothes: Meteos was wearing a plain grey t-shirt, blue jean shorts, and white gyms shoes while Minerva wore similar clothes, the only difference being a plain red t-shirts hat hugged her large chest. It was two hours later as the two students were walking together in a nearby park. "Hey Minerva, I'm gonna go walk ahead for a bit." Meteos said, and without another word he took off. He could barely hear Minerva chasing after him as he ran out of sight, hiding behind a tree awhile she ran past him.

"Well, someone has speed in them. I wonder what he would think if I said I had picked the one." A feminine voice came from in front of him as two fingers slid down his chest, both of them hot and cold at the same time. Looking at the owner of the voice, he saw a petite female with a fair skin tone smiling at him. Her long dark purple hair stopped around her middle back with bangs that covered were brushed to the left side of her face, covering one of her purple irises. "Anyway, I'm glad you're on time Meteos." She motioned him to follow her.

"Allison, I can't tell if you like messing around with me on purpose or if you're testing me." Meteos sighed as they traveled further into the park, passing so many trees that looked alike one could get easily lost. After a while, the two finally made it to a small building that looked like a shrine, seeing 10 men dressed in suits standing guard. One of the guards gave Allison and Meteos a nod, holding the door open for them as a man was sitting down on a chair with a table and another empty chair across from him.

"Ah Mr. Desmond, I see you're doing well. Please take a seat if you will." His gruff voice, while insisting that Meteos sit down, was practically an order that he shouldn't ignore. While taking his seat, Meteos took a good look at the older gentleman. He was a rather large man with a large body mass, which Meteos assumed wasn't fat but mostly muscle. With a cigar in his mouth, he had on a black custom made fedora to go along with his white suit and black shoes. A cane leaned against the table that separated them, an accessory that Meteos was sure wasn't just an accessory. "I see you've been doing well since entering Alternium, keeping my daughter safe I hope." He let out a puff of smoke, aiming away from Meteos out of respect.

"Yes sir, I have but you'd be amazed how well she can handle herself." Nodding at Allison's father, Meteos retained eye contact with him. "From what I've heard and seen, Allison tends to study more than battle, yet she has gained the nickname 'The Mystic Librarian' from some of the students." He thought back on how he got into this situation and what would have happened differently if he hadn't caught Allison peeking into the male locker room from a hole she drilled in the wall outside.

"That's good to hear, but you don't have to call me sir. You can call me 'The Don'." Her father responded, folding his hands together after he put out his cigar. The Don was the most notorious mobsters of the underground crime syndicate that ran throughout the entire land, his being the most wealthy. "Now, I'm sure you're trying to become a full fledged Knight, but you don't have to worry about my organization causing a problem. I've kept my word with all the Knights and dealt in more...legal practices, but I still have other obligations to attend to." He leaned back in his chair, sighing as he stretched his arms above his head. "But for keeping your end of the deal, I'll have to give you somethi-"

One of the guards from outside opened the door to the room, bowing his head before speaking. "I apologize for interrupting, but it seems we have someone intruding near our location." Looking back up at his boss, the Don gave a silent nod to Allison as she walked outside along with five other guards.

 **At the nearby park an hour later**

Minerva had been searching for Meteos for at least thirty minutes and was pissed off. Going off of the concrete path, she walked midst the trees not paying attention as she went deeper into the more secluded part of the park, where there was more wildlife. "I swear, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind when I find him." Minerva said to herself, as she balled up her fist. "How dare he make a princess worry about him...that idiot." Sighing, Minerva leaned against a tree, letting the small rays of sunlight hit her skin.

"Excuse me, miss?" An adult male with short black hair wearing a white button down shirt, a black sports jacket, slacks and some sort of crossover between a dress shoe and a gym shoe approached her. However, he was followed by four others dressed like him as they stood in a group in front of her. "This area is currently being rented out by someone and you're considered trespassing. Would you please carry on with your relaxation elsewhere?" He asked kindly, only to recieve a huff in response. "Pardon me?"

"I'm not bothering anyone with my presence, am I? I have no intent on interrupting whatever you guys had going on. Trust me, I mean you no harm." Minerva crossed her arms, still annoyed by being left behind. "Now please, leave me alone. You don't want to get me more upset than I already am." She gave the guards an empty glare, essentially giving them their warning.

"Either leave peacefully, or we can get physical. Regardless of your mood, I was given specific orders to escort anyone off the premises, with or without any bruises. Female or not, we won't hold back if you insist on resisting us." They had various weapons: tonfas, a bo staff, a mace, twin daggers and throwing knives as the guards moved to block any sort of escape for her. "A shame we have to harm such a pretty girl who doesn't know how to li-" The guard, holding his tonfas, was interupted by Minerva's soft chuckling, which turned into full blown laughter.

Wiping a tear from her eye, Minerva cracked her knuckles as a large smile covered her face. She suddenly took a step forward only to backflip far enough until her feet were on the trunk of the tree behind her, bending her knees as she sent her body flying towards the nearest guard in front of her: the one who did all the talking. With the speed she had, he was unable to react quick enough as she tackled him to the ground, flinging him towards another tree as she rolled to her feet after grabbing the talkative guard by his legs, letting her momentum handle the rest. The sound of his back hitting the tree was loud as the guard fell unconscious. Turning around to glare at the other four guards, she cracked her knuckles. "Now...who's next?" Minerva asked, revealing a toothy grin. Little did Minerva know that from the shadows, Allison was watching her...studying her movements carefully.

Around the same time, Rey had finished his training and started heading towards his dorm. Walking through one of the more shady areas of the campus, Rey cut across an empty battlefield with his destination in sight until someone stepped in front of him, blocking his way. It was a rather bulky male who towered over Rey, reminding him of the warning Leon gave him. "Pardon me, I'd like it if you could move out of the way for me." Rey asked politely, not really in the mood for any trouble, especially since the person looked older than himself.

The older student chuckled as he took a step forward cracking his knuckles. Standing at 6'3", he had short spiked black hair along with dark green eyes with his body mass best be described as all muscle. "Well, it's been a while since I've had any fun and I was wondering if you could spar with me." His advance forced Rey to back away from him as his strides brought him closer. "What's wrong, not in the mood to fight newbie?" Taking a quick step forward, he threw a punch at Rey, making contact only to see the body disappear into thin air. "What the hell?"

"Dax, you can't just force people to fight...especially not that way." The male named Dax heard a voice from behind him and turned around only to see no one there. "That kid has quite the speed, especially to create an afterimage and escape from you." Hopping down from a nearby tree, it was another male student that stood at a decent height of 5'11" with a fair skin tone. He had some freckles going across his nose and cheeks and his scruffy light blue hair was slightly long, almost brushing his shoulders. His hair covered up his ears and some bangs fell in such a way that they were between his electric yellow eyes but he brushed them to the sides, covering a scar going across his left eye.

"Bucky, it's up to us third year students to show the newbies what they are in for by attending this school. Sure, we outclass them but I'd like to think that there are a couple standouts." Daxton King, nicknamed "Dax", stretched his arms, sighing in frustration. "I'm guessing you found something out? We don't regularly talk unless it's something important. Or were you trying to fight me?" He chuckled,

Bucky, or his full name Nolan Buchanan Hart, nodded in response put on a pair of glasses "Well, after seeing that fight with Meteos and Alyssia, I've got my sights set on fighting Meteos again after our last fight. He was holding back, and I'll be damned if I let him get away with that. However, I think I have a ticket to getting that rematch. That kid who got away was his little brother; I overheard him talking to Leon when I was getting my training done. And since you like fighting anyway, I figured you could help by taking care of the little brother in a battle and use him as bait for Meteos."

Dax simply shrugged. "If I'm going through all this trouble I might as well fight Meteos first. I don't expect that kid to do much for me, but I don't understand why the whole plan when you could just send him a challenge like usual. Unless you're trying to force him to fight you, but still it seems like it's kinda unnecessary. But hey, I don't care." He turned away from Nolan and started to walk off. "Just send me a message when you're ready I guess." And with that, Nolan began going about his business as well.

 **Elsewhere**

In the void inhabited by Astanoth, the hooded figure and the six other followers, the hooded figure ordered the other six to approach the orb which held the slumbering Shadow Lugia. "Now, you six have pledged your loyalty to our cause and shall be rewarded for doing so. After helping you escape your prison, I have seen your determination and that we can help each other out. You hate the Knights as much as we do and together we shall handle their existence." The figure began pacing back and forth in front of the six, 3 of them male and the other three female. "You were all human and competent in battle in your own right, but after this, you will be given the power to match and even exceed those that you despise. Four of you will be given a power stronger than the others but don't worry about the other two that are left out. You'll get something just as impressive."

A couple seconds passed as the figure looked at the sealed being, turning to face the group. "Are you ready? Because there is no going back after this, whether you wanted to or not." All six nodded in agreement, making the figure smile. There was a bright glow coming from the orb, six tendrils of dark energy tethering onto their souls. "Then let's begin. Oh, I almost forgot: Try not to die." With a chuckle and a wave of the hand, the six fell to their knees as their bodies were encased in transperant orbs similar to that of Astanoth's, trapping in the shouts of indescribable pain they felt. The figure watched as they writhed in pain, turning towards the sealed evil. "When they come out, we will have our Swords of Chaos and two of the most overwhelming Dark Knights the world has ever seen. And when they are ready...the plan will commence."

 **So yeah, I would have had this out much sooner if A) my internet wasn't so crappy, and B) my google docs decided to delete the progress I had made on the chapter so I had to start all over again...yaay. Anywho, it was honestly a good thing that it did, kinda allowing me to edit and think about what I could do better...but still got crappy wifi, so whatever I guess. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and by the next chapter I'll be sure to give credit to all the people of the OC's I've accepted. Hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend, and peace out.**


	4. What the future has in store

**I finally got back into the swing of things and got a bit of my groove back. If it weren't for my music playlist, not sure I'd have come up with everything I did. Yeah, I'm kinda disgressing, but I've gotta make you read some sort of text before the actual story. I mean sure, it could be filled with unnecessary things, but not even I could do that. Anyway, enjoy.**

Minerva sighed as she brushed dirt off her shoulder, leaving five unconscious body behind her. Not a scratch was on her whereas her five opponents were more than roughed up. She was sure she had broken a couple noses which didn't compare to the destruction that she left behind. A couple of the guards were head first in the ground, buried up to their waist. "Now then, to find that littl-" She jumped back as a lone fireball was launched in her direction, dissipating into thin air as it hit the ground where Minerva previously stood. Just as she was about to make some sort of comment, Minerva looked up to see at least 10 floating flames, half of them being candles and the other half lamps. She wasn't sure where they came from, but they had an unsettling visible dark aura, one which she had only heard stories of: Litwick and Lampent. Legends of how they even haunt this realm in abandoned mansions, ruins or even forests such as the one she was currently in. However, the only efficient way of taking them out was to defeat the leader and they were nowhere in sight.

"Very good. But you won't find me." Minerva shuddered as she heard an ominous voice resounding around her. Unable to determine the location or the gender of the owner of the voice, the princess had no idea where to start. "You have two options: leave now or have a barrage of flames shot at you. And it won't stop until I determine you're as far away as I'd like. You have five seconds, little girl."

"I appreciate the warning, but I'm on a mission of my own. So unless you know where that bonehead is, I'm not really interested in dealing with you." Minerva said as looked around, seeing that the ten ghosts had dispersed, some of them in plain sight while others were somewhat hidden, acting like snipers if their glow didn't completely give them away. "But it looks like you won't let me go on unless if I run." She rushed forward, causing the sentries to activate due to her forward progress. The ones within her sight shot out standard fireballs, either sidestepping or jumping back to avoid getting hit. With her back to a tree, sMinerva narrowly ducked out of the way of as hot of fire, practically confirming their use as snipers. At this rate, she wasn't going to do much but tire herself out and get hit by the attacks.

The ominous voice spoke once more, almost enjoying the scene. "Impressive. Not many have dodged that many of my attacks before. So I'll give you one final chance before the attack resumes. Leave now and I promise you'll remain unscathed." Closing her eyes, she concentrated focusing on the direction of the voice or a nearby presence. Minerva couldn't pinpoint auras like some people but her sixth sense was average at best. It was clear that there was a faint detection but she wasn't exactly sure where it led her. Without saying a word, Minerva darted forward, strafing around trees as the ghost sentries followed her, sending out a simultaneous attack at her. A split second before they made contact, a large gale of wind burst forth, dispersing all of the attacks and the sentries as she found her target. However, she made it there too late, seeing something sink into the ground.

"I get you were looking for me, but what were you doing?" Minerva looked up to see Meteos, staring at her in confusion. Looking around her, she saw that the Litwick and Lampent had also disappeared. Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair, crossing her arms. Huffing out in frustration, she walked off. "C'mon, don't get all upset." His pleas fell on deaf ears as he stood there, feeling his phone vibrate. Meteos checked his phone seeing he had a plethora of messages, most of them challenges from other students, but one of them simply read "Rematch". Opening it, he read it: 'Meet me at the Battlefield East in two hours or we go after your brother.' Thinking back on his past battles, he couldn't think who would want to rematch him aside from Alyssia. However, this was odd for her since she was more confrontational about her challenges. That and he bribed her out of a rematch for at least two weeks when he gave her an envelope with a gift card to a shop that sold her favorite sweets inside it.

Remembering the envelope he gave, he also remembered the one he received last night. It had been sent by the student council, and they scheduled a meeting with him in the next half hour and it already read 10:30 AM on his phone. Sighing in frustration after Minerva most likely went back to their dorm, he rushed over to the meeting place not wanting to keep the student council of all people waiting. However, to help speed himself up, he used a fraction of his Soul without fully activating it, focusing the power completely on his legs. Launching himself into the air, he hopped from branch to branch while occasionally hopping the tree tops.

 **Alternium Gardens, 10:57 AM**

Meteos panted as he pushed the door open to the school's well kept indoor garden, with rows of different colored and different types of flowers for at least 100 yards. It's upkeep was impressive as faculty and students worked together to care for the plants. Wiping the sweat from his face, Meteos saw it was empty with the exception of two people sitting on a bench and talking with each other in the distance. One of them was the Student Council Vice President Leon Age, and the other was the strongest student in the school and the Student Council President: 18 year old Harley Vanderbelt. At the height of around 5'5", Harley was quite attractive, bearing a nice set of assets that made her as popular as she was among the male and female students. Her hair fell to her waistline as her natural hair color had multiple shades of red and orange with the tips of her hair being blonde. Her bangs were brought down above her teal hued eyes, which complemented her ivory skin tone and the sharp slim nose on her face. As a fourth year student, Harley was a the definition of a top tier student, being the best at what she did and for good reason with a rightfully earned A rank.

"Look who's on time." Harley spoke as Meteos walked in range of her vision, causing Leon to turn around and lazily wave in his direction. "Oh Leon, I'm sure you can put more effort into it than that." Standing up, she walked towards Meteos, shaking hands with him. "Nice meeting you again. And by the way, that was an impressive fight with Alyssia. I knew you had it in you." She smiled, causing Meteos to blush at such recognition. He noticed her strong cheekbones and her deep dimples and how well sculpted she was, as if she had been made by the gods themselves.

"Don't stare too long or you might become one of her fanboys." Leon smirked as he stood behind Harley. "Also, I met your brother earlier, although he might have gotten into trouble because of you. Remember when you got all those challenges last year, Harley? Took almost half the day to finish if I remember correctly, but a shame you went easy on some of them." Pulling out his phone, he showed Meteos a picture that had an official challenge posted listed as 'Newbie vs Unknown'. "I checked in with the headmaster about this, since we are supposed to oversee any matches involving first year students, but Daxton King and Nolan Hart are behind this."

"What? Why? I mean I kind of understand this from Dax since he's always doing things like this., but Nolan I didn't see coming. Unless the rumors I heard about him are true." Meteos gripped his head, trying to process what the hell was going on. "He thinks I wasn't taking him seriously the last time we fought, so he's using Rey to get that rematch. I don't know if Rey could beat either of them, but I have faith he can hold his own for a while. He's a tough kid, but he can be a bit reckless at times." Tapping his chin, he looked in confusion at Harley and Leon. "But surely that wasn't what you asked to meet me for is it?"

There were footsteps behind the group, turning to see Alyssia with a grin on her face. "Don't you see, idiot? They want us to join the Student Council." She chuckled, rustling Meteos' hair, which was weird on her part because she was never this friendly unless she wanted something. "I never expected this so soon, but he is the perfect candidate." Meteos stood there with a confused look on his face as mutltiple thoughts ran through his mind. He'd have said something, but he couldn't quite form the sentence.

Meteos suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, looking at Harley who smiled at him. "For a while, it's just been me and Leon who were a part of the student council and we decided that it would be best if we selected two worthy students to succeed us when we graduate." She said, giggling slightly. "Well, Leon will still be here since he's got one more year to go."

Leon huffed at her, tapping his arm. "Whatever you say, although you know how lazy I am. But besides that, it gives me one more year to screw around, so it's nothing I can't make an advantageous scenario out of. Anyway, we should probably hurry to that match." Holding his hands behind his head, Leon strolled out of the indoor garden with Alyssia following behind him, pulling out another of her favorite sweets.

Harley began walking until Meteos shook himself from his stupor, grabbing her hand. Their gazes met as Meteos and Harley looked at each other for a moment. "Tell me something, because it seems that I've been the only one to notice it. What happened that you can no longer have a genuine smile?" He asked, his eyes softening almost as if he could sympathize with her on some level. Despite the sudden question, Harley looked with a straight face and began to speak only to be interrupted. "I've been around long enough to know when someone has had a shitty past, and I'm no different." Meteos sighed as he let go of her hand, walking with Harley as he matched her pace as they exited out the doors.

Harley glanced over at Meteos, studying him closely as they made their way to the fight. Not too long ago he was secluded and as wasn't as confident, but now he's changed a lot. He even noticed that small detail about my smile...Quite interesting. She thought, greeting any other students who addressed her along the way. One thought crossed her mind: what did Meteos go through to be able to become so perceptive?

 **Arena A: The Fields of Judgement**

It was close to the time of his match as Rey waited on his side of the grassy battlefield, small statues of Arceus placed near the entrances of the stadium as students filed in to see the spectacle. Hearing the doors open at the other end of the field, it was at that moment his heart sunk as Dax and Bucky, who he hadn't seen before, walked in. "It's a shame that your brother couldn't man up and take me on himself." Bucky sighed, disappointed that he couldn't get his rematch. "I have nothing against you personally, but it might show us how skilled you first years are."

Dax stepped forward with his arms crossed. "Yeah, but I want some sort of challenge." Clearing his throat, all eyes were on him. "If anyone wants to team up with this brave kid and see how good they are, you're more than welcome to try." As he cracked his knuckles, the sound itself could be heard throughout the arena, intimidating a large amount of the student. At first, no one dared to get up, resulting in Dax walking back to Bucky, until a few gasps were heard, followed by a large thud that shook the ground slightly. The slight quake made Rey stumble while Dax and Bucky held their ground. Everyone looked towards the cause of the quake to see a light skinned male standing up. At an impressive height of 6'1", he looked towards his opponents as the most intimidating feature wasn't his rugged rough scowl nor his decent muscular build, but the most prominent scar on his face: a short jagged scar going over his left eye. With his platinum blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, aside from a few strands going over his face which gave a full view of his stormy gray glare.

"Ya wanted someone, right? As long as ya both aren't pushovers, make this interesting. The name's Angelo Acetone by the way, so don't ya dare forget it." Angelo turned to look at Rey and motioned for him to walk over to his side. Even midst his frightening gaze, Rey could see that Angelo wasn't as bad as he seemed, approaching his battling partner for the imminent match. "Look over at them. Which one are ya gonna take, kid?" Angelo asked, rubbing one of his shoes against the ground, chuckling.

"Probably not the one who looks like he'll crush me in one hit." Rey said, smirking for a moment as he realized how easily he made conversation without his nerves getting the best. He even got a chuckle out of Angelo who nodded in agreement. "We should try to keep our opponents from grouping together while pressing any slight advantage we get to attack the others target."

"I git ya. Glad I teamed up with smart kid." Angelo pat Rey on the shoulder with what would have been considered light, but given Rey's size it was a bit more than he anticipated. "They don't call me 'Unbeatable Angelo' for nothin."

Dax couldn't help but overhear Angelo's nickname and got excited. "I've heard stories about him. He's been in at least a hundred fights with a current untouched win streak..well until today that is." He cracked his knuckles, looking over at Bucky. "What about the kid? Think you can handle him?"

Bucky looked over at Dax with a smirk on his face. "Who, the little brother? I don't know anything about the Desmond family, but I'm sure I've got the edge." Staring at Rey, he couldn't help but wonder how well Meteos' sibling would fare against him.

The students in the crowd began clapping as Harley and Leon entered the arena, making their way over to the center of the field. "It's nice to see our new students taking on our veterans but don't regret taking this battle." Harley spoke up, smiling at Rey and Angelo. "Best of luck in your potential upset."

Leon turned to Dax and Bucky, lazily gesturing them. "I'm sure you two know the drill. Gauge how strong they are before you decide to go all out, but don't let them wipe the floor with you." He chuckled as he turned to Harley. "Now, we have an announcement to make before this match starts. Two people have been chosen in this very arena to join the Student Council, but we will announce their names afterwards."

Harley and Leon took their place further away at a safe distance. "Leon, I've known you for 3 years and to this day I still can't get used to how quickly you go from lazy to a prodigy so quickly." She said, softly giggling.

"What? I'm not lazy all the time...call it selective if you will." Leon remarked, smirking back at her. "But you know how I am when I get serious. I got close to beating you last time and I plan on doing so before you graduate." Meanwhile, all four combatants looked at the two chatting away, waiting for them to finish. Noticing that they were wasting time, Leon and Harley nodded at each other and then the two pairs, as everything became silent. A holographic screen displayed the two sides with their respective faces, labeling Rey and Angelo as "Rookies" while Dax and Bucky were "Veterans". Clearing their throats, they spoke one word simultaneously: "Begin."

 **I hope everyone has been enjoying their summer. I'll admit that I could've had this out sooner but as life happens, sometimes you have to deal with it. But it did give me time to enjoy my break as well and deal with some inner demons of mine. Enough of that, its time to give a shoutout to all the OC's I've accepted in:**

 **Harley- NeonNightFox**

 **Leon- Hero LumiEre Lumanite**

 **Rey- SomeoftheFame**

 **Angelo- NitroTheKidd88**

 **Dax- KingKatsu**

 **Bucky- W. R. Winters**

 **Alyssia- The Ruffler**

 **Javier- ThePrinceOfLight**

 **Allison- Another Generic Gamer**

 **Meteos and Minerva- Yours truly**

 **I want to thank everyone who submitted an OC and for those who didn't get accepted, there will be another chance for a submission. But I'll let you know when. Hopefully, I've portrayed every to the best of my ability. And just for fun, should you do a review, tell me a potential matchup between any of the OCs that you'd like to see in the future. Maybe it'll get picked, or is already set in stone for a future chapter.**


	5. Looming Dread - pt 1

**Not going to waste much time here on the intro, but here's the next installment of Cavalry Academia. I hope you enjoy.**

Headmaster Albarez sat in her office, taking a break from managing all of the school related bills and paychecks as she logged into her computer, looking through her files to find one in particular: a video of her first year as the Headmaster explaining what a Knight's weapon was. Skipping ahead, she found her favorite part, pressing play.

 _"A weapon a Knight uses is a manifestation of themselves. Even Knights who don't have an inner beast are able to do so and are arguably more skilled than those with them." She glanced around the room, smiling as she summoned her own weapon, appearing with a brilliant light as she gripped a golden rose shaped shield that sheathed a straight sword. "Sometimes as you grow stronger, your weapon will evolve into something more suitable. Even if it's the same as before, even the slightest change can affect one's previous fighting style. But weapons can also be passed down from one Knight to another, or created by your own willpower, but that is very rare and only mastered by Knights of the highest skill and can only be done two or three times in their life."_

Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair as she paused her speech. "I remember when it used to be so simple. These kids have it so easy nowadays, beating the crap out of each other without a care in the world." A message popped up, notifying her of the match going on in the Fields of Judgement, watching the feed as she was curious to see how the matchup would unfold.

 **Arena A: Fields of Judgement**

After a brief moment of sizing each other up, Dax and Angelo rushed at each other, summoning their weapons. With snort-like chuckle, a pair of brass knuckles appeared on his hands, forming into fists as the distance between them grew smaller. Angelo, on the other hand, waited until the last second to block an incoming punch, the resounding sound of metal hitting metal as he held onto a steel rod with a cloth like grip near the bottom of it. Dax jumped back as Angelo pulled the rest of the weapon out of the ground, strafing chunks of the ground that were sent flying towards him, punching a couple of the projectiles to rubble with a single strike. The opposite end of the rod led to a giant battle axe with golden blades, separating one side that was curved while the other was jagged a red pearl shaped gem between the two. Resting his weapon on his shoulder, Angelo smirked as he taunted Dax, beckoning his opponent to take him on. Something Dax would happily oblige to as the third year got into a boxer's stance, running towards Angelo, hoping he wouldn't disappoint.

"Hmm, I see that one is interesting." Bucky couldn't help but smile as he turned to look at the skirmish for a moment. As he turned back, he just noticed Rey slash upward at him, dodging it only to see Rey convert that missed attack into another strike as he brought his left heel upward towards Bucky's jaw while doing a front flip. Chuckling to himself, Bucky hopped backwards to narrowly avoid the blow.

"You should pay attention to your opponent rather than watching your ally fight his own battle." Rey said as he turned around to face Bucky, clenching his fists as they were covered by a pair of segmented metal gloves that from Bucky's distance looked gold. From finger of the gloves there were claw-like blades, each of them two inches long. Additionally, there spikes on the backs of the gloves, something Bucky was sure to be aware of. "Now I have a question for you..why me?" Rey asked, admittedly confused over the reasoning for such a battle.

A smirk appeared on Bucky's face as he held his hands out before him. "Well, I do apologize for getting distracted. I wasn't sure if you'd be to scared to move, but I can tell you've got more guts than your brother. After his little reveal the other day, I wasn't satisfied with the result of a previous battle we had, so I used you to draw him out. However, I see he's letting you handle his fights since he's too scared to accept a challenge up front." His own weapon appeared before him, grabbing a kusarigama out of the air as it materialized. Holding onto the foot long handle with black lightning bolts carved into it, the blade was made out light silver metal and a little less than a foot long, slightly curved and hooked at the end of it. What was most indium adapting wasn't the end of the chain, which was a spiked heavy weight, but how much of the chain there was.

"Take it back." Rey gritted his teeth, glaring at Bucky. "Insulting him means you're insulting our family, and neither of us will stand for that. And I don't care how much older you are than me...you will regret it." Clenching his fists, Rey had lost any hint of fear as a dark aura slowly emitted from his body, catching everyone's attention.

"Why don't you make me? That is if you can handle Whiplash." Tossing the handle to his left hand, Bucky gripped a 2 feet of the lengthy chain near the spiked weight with his right hand, twirling it slowly in a vertical rotation to the right of his body, increasing the speed little by little as small sparks were visible. Bucky could feel the intent to kill coming off of Rey, shuddering in anticipation as electricity ran through his body.

Meanwhile, Angelo and Dax were in a similar standoff as they got a feel for the other. Many visible slashes were in the ground between them coming from Angelo's axe, while many chunks of rocks were scattered behind Dax from punching them. "Guess that's it for the warmup. Time to go all in, eh?" Angelo asked, smirking at Dax. He had mutual respect for the male as he was much stronger than anyone else he'd faced in his life.

Dax flexed his muscles as a circle of fire surrounded him. "You just read my mind. I'm glad you're no pushover, but don't disappoint me scrub." He responded as the flames grew bigger and visibly more intense as they engulfed his body. Stabbing his battle axe into the ground, Angelo was encased by the ground beneath him, the two elemental cocoons slowly breaking open.

Off to the side, Leon and Harley watched as the four transformation occurred simultaneously. "I'm surprised that the first years are holding their own for the time being, but this is when things get even more difficult." Harley said as she looked at her friend who was scratching his head. "What's the matter? You noticed that feeling as well with Rey?"

Leon nodded at her statement, crossing his arms as he showed off his one sleeveless arm. "I was wondering what Meteos was worried about and this instance might be it. But the same feeling goes for who's facing his brother, especially since Bucky is eager for his rematch." He sighed, tapping his head. "We might have to step in if this gets too bloody, but those two should be here by now, so it would be nice to see them break up a fight." Leon chuckled, getting a laugh out of Harley as they turned to see the four combatants in their new forms.

Angelo broke out of his cocoon, revealing his more muscular stature as his clothes and appearance had changed. His hair became red and gold and the smile he had showed off his sharp teeth. On his shoulders was a red and gold coat with large white fur around the collar, wearing matching pants with the same color pattern. His weapon had grown in size, the grey rod turning golden as well as the word "KING" engraved on the blades, each letter just as red as his hair and clothes.

Across from him, Dax pulled apart the flames that engulfed him seconds before to reveal himself. He too experienced an outfit change, wearing a black vest with a yellow swirl pattern on the back of it that depicted his soul with a flame colored fur collar. He had on a pair of black fingerless gloves with red metal rings around his wrists, complimenting the black bandages on his forearms. Wearing orange pants and black combat boots, the top half of his previously full black hair became orange as well. "King huh? I don't see a crown." Dax chuckled, bringing his fists together as flames shot upward from the impact.

Angelo reached into his coat pocket as he put a golden cap on his head with the back of it missing, shaped like a crown. "You do now." Displaying his strength, he held onto his weapon with one hand as he rest the rod on his shoulder. "And I decree that yer gonna receive a well earned ass whuppin." After that small exchange, the two rushed each other once more, metal clashing with metal as Dax parried the much larger blade with one fist, sending his other fist towards Angelo only to have it blocked by the golden rod. However Dax continued the offensive, forcing Angelo to dodge or block with either a free hand or his blade. Suddenly, a burst of flame engulfed Angelo's body, causing a small explosion around him as Dax jumped back.

Amidst the smoke, the ground was being audibly ruptured as three large boulders were launched towards Dax, who was more than ready to shatter them. Punching one into rubble, Dax did the same to the second one but was met by an oncoming blade that sliced through his shoulder and became lodged in the ground behind him, seeing the weapon but not its wielder. Angelo burst through the final projectile as chunks of it spun around him and shot forward, pelting the surprised Dax with sharp stones that his body withstood. Landing behind his opponent, Angelo pulled his weapon from the ground once more as a few scuffs covered his body. Spinning his blade, a small amount of blood splattered on the ground. "Guess I've gotten first blood." Angelo said with a smirk.

Dax cracked his neck as he slow clapped for Angelo. "Well done. You've got that fire in your eyes when the battle really starts heating up. However..." As he said that, Dax disappeared only to reappear in front of Angelo, connecting a brutal lariat that threw Angelo's skidding across the field until he landed on his feet, obviously fighting off the pain of that hit as he coughed up blood, spitting it on the ground. A confident Dax pointed at Angelo, imitating his grin. "You've still got a lot to learn, 'King'. This isn't some street fight and I'm not some hot headed punk. So use that unpredictability of yours if you think it'll help you win."

Rey and Bucky had seemingly disappeared, replaced by two swift moving trails, one of them black and the other yellow. There were brief moments where they were visible, but not long enough to get a good look and only to hear the crackling of electricity or metal clashing with metal. At least to the untrained eye it wasn't, as Leon and Harley watched each movement with ease. Finally, the two speedy combatants slid away from each other as the crowd got a good look at them before they decided to engage in high speed combat once more.

Bucky had also physically changed, his hair now purely white with the tips retaining his blue colored hair with a pair of ears poking out the top of his head. His cheeks turned slightly yellow while his once bright yellow eyes became a stormy grey, but had become wider and rounder. While his clothes remained the same, they changed colors, now mostly white with a blue trim to it, accompanied by a large fluffy tail on his backside. His weapon gained three spike at the top and also had grown longer, turning pure white while the carvings on his blade turned blue. The chain that once connected the spiked weight, which now had become even more spiky and had an aura of blue electricity, was now completely made of blue electricity looking slightly transparent from far away.

Rey had changed attire completely, his uniform replaced by a battle suit that fit his form from neck to ankle, made with black segmented armor plates. His hair had grown bushier and gained a purple tint to it, concealing the pair of ears he had upon his head. His canine teeth had become pointed and more prominent, slightly sticking out of his mouth even with it being closed. The gloves he wore become even more deadly as the claw like blades had grown longer, the spike on the back of his palm had extended and needle like protrusions sprouted from his knuckles. However, now his feet had similar claw like blades as metallic bands wrapped around his feet, keeping them secure.

The two paused for one more instance as they vanished into thin air once more, however reappearing much quicker than before as Rey was pushed back, barely evading the spiked weight as a couple of the needles caught his arm, sending shock throughout his body. Falling to his knees as he lost feeling in his arm for a moment, Bucky slowly walked towards Rey. "You can't outspeed me, but feel free to try. But I've been doing this much longer than you have, and many people who thought they could have failed." He'd pause, staring Rey down. "But what can a little cub like yourself do in the wild?"

With the sense of touch returning to his arm, Rey chuckled as he traced the letter A in the air as it floated for a bit before traveling over to Angelo, touching his arm and returning to Rey in the form of white energy. "Hey Angelo. You know what to do." Rey called out without turning to him as he smashed his fist down onto the ground as Angelo's weapon glowed purple, smashing it into the ground in front of him to launch himself in the air as Rey's attack shook the shattered the ground beneath Dax and Bucky, causing the field to shake violently. Angelo landed back on the ground before Dax who was now on his back. Bucky was a bit slow to get back to his feet, unable to reduce much of the damage inflicted. "Don't underestimate us. Our own battles have shaped us into who we are today. I said you'd pay for insulting my family, and that was only a portion of your debt." Rey said, leaping into the air as he pointed one claw on his hand downward, adding a corkscrew effect, clashing with Bucky's electric chain.

"This is quite the match, isn't it Harley?" Leon said, looking over to her as paused to see a distraught look on her face as she showed him her phone with a message from Headmaster Albarez: She's here. With widening eyes, Leon had a concerned look on his face. "I have to go find them, because something tells me that they aren't in this building. Otherwise, who knows what will happen." Receiving a nod from Harley, he ran to the stands, scaling the wall with ease and exited the arena.

Many of the other students were curious as to why he left but continued watching as Harley stood as the lone referee. She sighed, gripping her forehead as she slowly opened her eyes. _How'd I forget to tell them about her return?_ The Student Council President thought to herself, worried about the safety of Meteos and Alyssia.

 **Less than four blocks away from Arena A**

Meteos sighed as he carried one of two bags that held Alyssia's Dango rations as she skipped ahead, happily eating one of them. He'd said that they could go afterwards, but she was insistent on going with or without him. So when he was more than happy to take such a detour, he wasn't expecting such a purchase. "You're just using me at this point. Even after I gave you a gift card, I'm sure you waited until this exact moment to do so." He wiped his forehead free of a lone droplet of sweat as the sun shone down on him.

"Was it? But I had to talk with the shop owner. She like family since I've been going there for the last four years." Alyssia replied, finishing the first of many dangos, breaking the stick in half as she slid it into her pocket, pulling out another from her plastic bag. Just as she was about to open another sweet, her phone rang, causing her to huff in disappointment. "Yeah, hello Leon. What's up?"

"What's up? Where the hell are you two? Did you force him to go dango shopping with you?" Leon asked, sounding more worried than Alyssia had ever heard him sound before.

"Leon, what's going on? You're never like this unless something bad is about to happen." Alyssia responded, putting Leon on speaker phone as her cheerful tone became more serious, even catching Meteos' attention.

"You two need to hurry over to Arena A. NOW. S-" The phone lost connection as the once sunny day had become cloudy, with a rumble of thunder behind them.

"Leon? LEON? Dammit, what going on with my phone?" Alyssia frantically looked through her phone, receiving a text from Leon in the form of an old video that she knew all too well. "Meteos...this is the one of few times where I'll be completely honest with you. We need to go now. Look, I'll make it up to you for dragging you along with me, but trust me we have to hurry." She grabbed onto his arm, starting to pull him away only to be handed her other back of dangos.

"Why should I believe you now? Especially after having me carry the heavier bag of your shit and taking a longer route on purpose." Meteos shot back, not believing her for a second. "If whatever has you spooked is real, prove it." In response, she shoved her phone in his face as the same video clip played as the weight of the situation hit him like a truck. As the short clip ended, in the brief instance where her phone turned black he saw his reflection with a figure behind him donning platinum hair, looking up to see Alyssia backing away slowly. "Oh...fuck...It's Lenalee Marinette Archambeault."

The figure giggled, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You're much cuter in person, Meteos…but how long can you last~?" Her voice was a mixture of warm and inviting and deadly, sending chills down his spine.

 **Fights galore and a terrifying newcomer approaches. I had fun with this one, doing the best I could with descriptions because the more detailed something is, the better it can be visualized mentally. Plus I got to add my own flair to attacks and dialogue, which is always interesting. But I have to give credit where it's due, especially to RussianXRouletteXValentineXoXo and her OC Lenalee, providing me with enough inspiration to come up with a nice cliffhanger. I felt like I was missing something that would give this chapter a nice kick to it and lucky she was able to help bring the spice, so be sure to check her out whenever you get a chance. On a side note, I'm curious to hear what some of your guesses might be as to which Pokemon moves I referenced. Be sure post a review to let me know what you think. Take care, and see you next time.**

 ** _Three songs most listened to while making this chapter:_**

 ** _Lido - Money_**

 ** _Black Coast - TRNDSTTR (Lucian remix)_**

 ** _Mihka! X The End - Kodokushi_**


	6. Looming Dread - pt 2

**Hope you enjoy going back to school and whatnot, but introductions aren't really my forte. So let's get to the good stuff. Hope you enjoy.**

Meteos turned to face the student behind him, looking slightly down to see the platinum haired female, whose hair fell midway to her hips. On the sides of her head were two buns that had a few loose strands, bearing cover bangs along with two longer stands that fell down the sides of her face, complimenting her fair porcelain skin and a pair of ombre colored eyes as the top half were a vibrant royal blue and the bottom half being gold. With her natural full thick eyelashes and her pink lips, Meteos heard that she could be compared to a doll but never saw it for himself in person.

As he took a step back, Meteos could see her attire, particularly her impressive bust along with the top button of her shirt undone and the school tie wrapped around her left thigh. Despite being some what petite, her 5'6 height was intimidating given her history and the equally mysterious purple and black crystal pendant hanging from a black choker around her neck. Taking a breath, he calmed himself and smiled. "Never thought I'd ever meet you in person so soon, Lenalee. How do you know who I am, if I might ask? I heard you were away on important business."

Lenalee simply giggled as she strode towards him, pressing herself against his chest, sparking a blush from his cheeks. "Hey Alyssia, I didn't know you were dating such an impressive guy." She said in a teasing manner, looking up to the embarassed Meteos, her gaze almost hypnotic. "As for you, Harley and I have talked while I was gone. That and I always watch the school's interesting matches. She'd said you were someone to keep an eye on ever since your first year, but now.." She paused as her right hand was placed on his chest, right above his beating heart.

"Alyssia, go find Leon." He turned away to see that she was already gone, deadpanning for a moment. "And no, we aren't dating so whatever you're doing, you can cut the act...although, a kiss might have been even better." Meteos chuckled, escaping her gaze after what seemed like an eternity. "So, what would you like, Ms. Archambeault?"

Lenalee gave a smirk in response as she moved away, turning her back to him. "Someone who gets my humor and would even take it even further? You're more intriguing than I thought. But I'm glad you're not blinded by my looks to get right to the point." She purposely swayed her petite hourglass hips as she walked a good distance away from him. "We're fighting and you're not running from it."

Meteos sighed. The sky had grown darker as thunder could be heard in the distance. "And how will you do that? I don't see a battlefield anywhere around here." He looked around as the large paved pathway led straight to Arena A with well cut grass on each side. "Besides, what would the true 2nd strongest student want fighting someone who's at best in the top 20?"

The platinum haired female pointed at him with a stern look. "Rank 5, right behind Alyssia due to your potential being unlocked. And I fight the other 4 to get a good impression of the competition. Partially for fun, but to see if anyone can push me as far as Harley did. And now that time has passed, you're the first challenge." Lenalee smiled at him, cracking her knuckles. "As for the battlefield, you're standing on one." Opening her phone, she pressed a digital button on the screen as the concrete was quickly covered by earth and trees, sprouting around him.

Meteos slowly ran a hand through his hair as the trees broke his line of sight, unaware of where she had gone. "One of the hidden fields, huh? Just my luck." He spoke calmly as rain fell, making it even harder to see but the echoes of giggling were around him let Meteos know she was stalking him midst the shadows. As he took a step forward, he could faintly hear the movement of leaves as something was fired in his direction from behind. Just when the projectile looked like it would hit its mark, Meteos sidestepped it and took cover behind a tree. However, the projectile burst into multiple as they ricochet towards him. Summoning his blade, Meteos vaulted himself into the air to dodge the secondary attack, grabbing onto a tree branch and climbing on it as he gripped his bleeding left arm.

From a distance away, Lenalee held a large bow made out of a black spinal cord with a long wire that was said to be indestructible. "Now then, where'd he go?" She spoke softly as she pulled the wire, with an arrow forming in her hand, loosing it as flew through the air like a sniper shot towards Meteos, soon hearing a pained scream followed by a thud. Dropping from her perch in a tree, she quickly ran towards where she found his body on the ground. Beads of rain had fallen down her face like sweat as the rain poured harder. "Heh, is that the best you've got?"

"Nope. Not at all." A voice came behind her as she ducked, evading Meteos's sword swing, although she was surprised to see the blade still sheathed. In that instance of distraction, he used both hands to bring the blunt weapon at a diagonal angle, narrowly missing her head to strike her left shoulder as she attempted to roll out of the way, dislocating it with a surprising amount of force. The strike sent Lenalee skidding towards the trunk of a tree, but she easily leapt back to her feet, leaning against said tree.

"Let's get one thing straight here: I expect you to go all out because I've held back in the past, and when I should have given 100% I lost a potentially winnable match with Harley." Lenalee said as she stretched her arm, clearly unaffected by his attack. "I wouldn't want to break such a potential rival so soon." She aimed her bow at him, staring with a fearsome gaze. "So draw your blade, if you want to stand an chance against me."

Meteos shook his head as he pointed his sheathed blade at her in response. "As flattering as your advice is, I can't directly draw my blade due to how much harm it's brought onto others. But…" His voice trailed off as an unsettling grin was plastered on his face. "Force me to draw it, even if my blood is spilled, and I'll show you just how deadly I can be." His tone drastically changed from before, even enjoying the thought of spilling his opponent's blood. It surprised him for a moment, the feeling almost..normal.

He heard Lenalee laugh as she lowered her bow, which soon disappeared in her hand as she placed the other on her choker, loosening it and tossing it to him. "Force you, huh? Sounds like a plan." Grimacing, she grabbed her head as she was hit by some sudden migrane. But as she slowly looked up to meet his gaze, she suddenly appeared inches away from him, sending him flying back just as quick as his back slammed against a tree, resulting in the tree to fall down in the other direction. The only thing Meteos could feel was a hell of a lot of pain, unable to move as he was suddenly lifted by his chin, meeting the figure of Lenalee as a strike of lightning streaked the sky behind her.

"I see something in those eyes of yours...hate, remorse, so many emotions you held deep within you for so long now resurfacing. It disgusts and intrigues me how much you remind me of myself." Lenalee flung him into another tree, smashing his head into the trunk. "So I want hear you beg for me to stop and see the pointless defiant look in your eyes before I submerge you into your own despair." It was chilling Meteos to see and empathize with her, slowly started to tear up because of how helpless he felt. However, he burst into laughter, which confused her. "What's so funny?" Lenalee asked, grabbing his neck. Her eyes widened as he spoke his next words and grew angry, leaping into the air to plummet back to the ground as dark energy encased her hand around his neck, causing a massive pillar of dark to rise from the impact, blasting away any of the nearby environment.

 **Elsewhere, during the skirmish**

Leon had seen a flash of lightning as he walked around outside the arena, droplets of rain falling from the sky. "I hope I make it in time. I know Meteos and Alyssia can't beat her separately..but maybe together they could hold her off for long enough." He heard a loud roar from the arena as he figured something amazing had just happened, but hearing the door behind him he turned to see Harley right there. "So..how'd the battle end?" He asked, noticing her cracking her knuckles.

"I couldn't leave this Lenalee matter alone, and I'm the only one who can match her strength. As long as Alyssia stays with Meteos, I'm sure we'll make it in time." She stepped out into the rain, closing her eyes as she felt the drops of rain hit her skin. "Oh, and I ended the match and don't ask how."

Leon followed behind her, chuckling. "I hope you didn't hurt them too much. So I take it you know where she might be?" Getting a nod in response, he smiled. "Well, let's go find the-"

"LEON! HARLEY!" Alyssia ran towards the two, panting heavily as she carried her bags of dango. "We've got big trouble. Meteos took on Lenalee by himself, and sent me to find you guys." She looked worried, scared even. "But I don't know how long he'll last against her."

"More like you assumed he'd risk his own safety and took off, right?" Leon asked, crossing his arms. Just as he was about to continue, a flash of lightning followed by an eruption of darkness caught the three's attention. Harley sped off towards the fight, followed by Leon, leaving a guilty Alyssia standing alone by herself with trembling clenched fists.

As the dust cleared, Meteos shakily got up from the ground, climbing out of the crater battered and bruised. Streams of blood slid down his face from his head, gripping his weapon as he looked at Lenalee, tapping her foot on the ground. "Well, are you ready to beg for mercy?" She asked, looking around as trees within a ten yard radius were destroyed, leaving a barren environment. Despite his injuries, he gave her a look that angered her. "I see there's no point convincing you through words, so I'll just let force take care of that." Extending her right hand forward, a black spine, similar to the material of her bow and also larger than her body, materialized before her as scythe with a jet black blade with a lone magenta stripe going across it. She held the blade against his bruised neck, ready to end his life. "Any last words?"

Meteos coughed up blood, looking at the choker in his hand. Sliding it in his pocket, his gaze met hers. "You're wasting our time, Miss Archambeault." One particular stream of blood slid over the left side of his face as his azure eyes looked at his battered body. Huffing, Lenalee wound up her strike, following through with her strike as her blade hit metal, but not from his sword, but his neck.

"What?! Impossible, there's no way you could have survived that." Lenalee gripped the black rod of her weapon, pulling back to see that his left eye changed from blue to crimson, noticing the same coloring quickly fading from his neck. "I don't know what you did, but it's not working again." As she swung her scythe once more, it was surrounded by a dark aura. However, Meteos was suddenly pulled back and the attack was blocked by Harley, wielding a black scythe with red gems on each end of the pole along with a curved blade at each end on the opposite side, and Leon, who adorned a full length rapier in his left hand and a white duelist knife in his right.

"Riposte: Elemental Burst." Leon muttered, as the dark energy was absorbed into his duelist knife and he quickly spun forward, jabbing into Lenalee's stomach as a large burst sent her flying back without actually piercing her skin. As she looked to glare at him, her vision was blocked by a swift moving Harley who began a diagonal slash. While Lenalee tried to parry it and felt her deflection make contact, she felt the pain as if she had still been cut, landing on her feet after the attack.

Looking up to see the two council members glaring at her, Lenalee began smirking as her weapon disappeared, covering her face with her hand as rain continued to pour down. The others could faintly hearing her laughing over the distant roar of thunder that echoed. "Good, good. I'm not surprised that you two have gotten stronger, but it's more amazing that he lasted this long." Lenalee said calmly, cracking her neck. "Together, I'd have no chance of beating you, so I'll call it quits." She turned away and began walking off, actions that made Leon and Harley suspicious. Lenalee suddenly stopped walking, tilting her head to look at Meteos, who had slowly gotten back up. "Oh, and as for you Meteos, hold onto that thing for me until you can get it back on~."

She winked, holding her right hand near her face as dark energy shrouded it, snapping her fingers as multiple arrows surrounded him, plunging into his body so swiftly that neither Leon nor Harley could come to his aid. Copious amounts of blood spilled from each wound as at least 30 arrows pierced his arms, legs and his stomach before each spire turned pitch black and exploded. Before falling unconscious, the last thing he saw was Harley and Leon rushing over to him as he lay on the ground before catching a glimpse of Lenalee's wicked grin.

Coming in and out of consciousness, Meteos could faintly hear the worried pleas of the council members as they carried him to the infirmary. Soon, the voice of Rey could be heard but soon his blurred vision faded to blackness while feeling his heart pump rapidly. His body was placed on a stretcher as he was rushed into intensive care, leaving Harley, Leon and Rey behind to sit in the waiting room. The nurses went to work as they examined his body: many cuts covered his body, joining various old scars long before his run in with Lenalee. The puncture wounds from the arrows that exploded left black coloring in his skin that most likely damaged any muscles or bones. While Meteos lay there, his breathing became labored as his heart slowed down, spurring the medical team on to work harder.

 **2 hours later**

After a difficult process, Meteos had been moved to a room where the four bandaged combatants, Harley, Leon and Alyssia stood over his body in silence. Minerva had been contacted but didn't pick up her phone, in the middle of something else at the moment. For a while, the only sound in his room was his own breathing and the sound of the heart monitor. Harley and Leon stepped out of the room, followed by Rey, Angelo, Dax and Bucky while Alyssia sat in her chair, holding her head while feeling more guilty about leaving him by himself.

"What do you mean we can't go after her? I might have tried to bait Meteos into giving me a rematch, but I never would have done anything like that to him." Bucky said, clenching his fist. "I'd heard she was strong, but strong enough to do that to another student?"

Harley sighed, closing her eyes. "Realistically, Meteos was strong enough to last ten minutes alone with her. Albeit, he barely got any significant damage on her, but ten minutes nonetheless. If anyone other than Leon, Alyssia and I were to attempt to challenge her, even the four of you wouldn't stand a chance unless you trained even harder than you are now." She said, glancing at Bucky with cold eyes, even more intimidating than Lenalee's.

"She's right you know. Lenalee was able to hold her own against the both of us and I'm sure she wasn't even using her full strength." Leon said, tapping his own arm as his red eyes looked over the rest of the group. "For now, we'll set up a new tournament that will pit the top 12 students against each other. The format has not been decided but you four are definitely qualified." Angelo and Dax had cheerful smirks on their faces but Rey stared at his brother, holding in his anger. Suddenly, Alyssia rushed out of the room, a look of shock on her face as she could barely utter a word, but there was a sound that spoke for her. The heart monitor had flatlined, making one thing clear: Meteos was dead.

His eyes opened as he sat on a chair in a dimly lit room, bound to it with an invisible tether. "W-where am I?" Meteos asked himself, starting to struggle. Suddenly, a figure approached him, none other than Lenalee. Her voice filled his ears as her previous taunts of crushing him and sending him into despair echoed louder as she walked closer with her bow in hand.

"You'll never beat me, and you'll die with that feeling." With a smirk, Lenalee aimed at point blank range, skewering him with arrows as each one shot through his limbs with the final shot sinking through his heart. As she looked into his eyes as they slowly faded, a tear slid down her face. "W-why? Why does this always happen to people I care about or want to get close to?" Suddenly, she ran off sobbing, leaving him to die. _I guess this is it….but she cried...why do I feel so much empathy for her?_ Meteos weakly thought, coughing up blood. Soon, he'd shed a tear of his own as his heart finally stopped beating.

 **Well, I watched a lot of Danganropa 3 before and while coming up with this chapter, and I eventually came to the conclusion of someone dying. And who better than Meteos? But, no this doesn't mark the end of Meteos due to main character plot armor. In fact, it only marks the resurgence of new opportunities and new plot twists I can come up with. Enough of that though, as I know this is one of my "shorter" chapters, but real life happens and we can't control it. On another note, there was only one person who tried the little guessing game (if I can even call it that) and these were the moves I used: Earthquake, Shock Wave, Assist, Stone Edge and Close Combat.**

 **Anywho, please leave a review and let me know what you thought, where said character might be (don't worry, they are still relevant), or if you want me to incorporate more Pokemon moves. As a side note, I did use Hanzo's scatter arrows for Lenalee.**


	7. Looming Dread - Aftermath

_A bright light shone before the dead body of Meteos as a new person walked to the chair he was bound to, cutting him free as he sat there. "This dark power….it's so familiar but different...It's not your time yet, so I'll step in until you're back to 100%." The figure tilted Meteos's head up, placing their forehead against his own as they morphed together, filling the dark room with light._

"I think Minerva is pissed. I told her about what happened over the phone and she hung up on me." Leon said, sighing in frustration. "I think she's going after Lenalee, but who knows how that'll end up." He looked at Meteos as he lay still on the bed. "This is a mess. We might have to do something about Lenalee."

Harley shook her head. "No, Lenalee wouldn't do something like that on purpose. It's like she was a different person, fueled by anger." She ran a hand through her hair, leaning against the wall. "I shouldn't have sent them out to run errands. If I hadn't, then.." Leon cut her off with a hug.

"Isn't the student council president supposed to be calm and collected?" Leon smiled, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and drying Harley's tears. "I haven't seen you this distraught in a long time, but there's no need for you to shed any tears. Meteos was a great investment tha-" Hearing a sudden sound of glass breaking, both Leon and Harley went back to the room where Meteos's body had disappeared and the window was broken.

"H-how is this possible?" Harley stared in dismay as Bucky, Dax, Angelo and Rey rushed into the room, their wounds completely healed.

"Where is he?" Rey asked worriedly, fearing the worst.

"He's...well..mostly going after Lenalee. I don't know how or why, but he's not dead." Leon glanced at Harley who went through her phone.

 ** _(In a nearby park on campus)_**

Lenalee felt her phone vibrating in her pocket, seeing it was from Harley. "Yeah, I know you're going to scold me. I didn't mean to kill him...it was just for him to suffer." She said tenaciously. "So what do you want?" She burst out into laughter as she heard what Harley had to say. "So what if he's coming after me? I'll put him in his place again."

The figure of Meteos approached Lenalee. "Oh Archambeault….where did you think you were going?" He seemed different than the last time they spoke. His wounds were fully healed, something that Lenalee could care less about.

"Still didn't learn your lesson? Especially when I killed you by accident." She said with a smirk, summoning her scythe right off the bat.

"Is that right, Cursed Beauty?" He said in response, causing her to falter. "I remember helping your father after he had to deal with your outburst, but I never thought I'd come face to face with the personality Simca."

"W-who are you?" Lenalee pointed her weapon at the person who possessed Meteos's body. For the first time in a long time, she was afraid of how much information this person had on her.

"Consider me a guardian angel of Meteos's. His parents had done marvelous work for Arceus and told me to watch over him." Meteos grinned as his body began to change. The skin tight sleeveless shirt he had on became more prominent as he developed feminine features, obtaining a shapely figure that rivaled Lenalee's, even surpassing it. His hair grew longer, reaching to his waist as it changed to platinum blonde. Soon, Meteos was no longer himself. This being had taken over his body, revealing her form as she stood before the terrified female.

"You may call me…" She had suddenly stepped forward, closing the distance between them extremely quickly as she Lenalee's stomach with her fist, causing her to keel over in pain and stagger backwards. "Actually, my name is irrelevant."

"Y-you're joking right?" Lenalee said through gritted teeth, gripping her weapon with trembling hands before she calmed herself down, taking a defensive stance. "No matter, I'll handle you no matter who or what you are. After all, you're just possessing a weak body."

"While it's true that when you fought him before, Meteos was barely any match for you, but he's slowly remembering how it feels to have a killing intent, especially with his powers being sealed away." The platinum blonde replied, cracking her knuckles. "Soon, he might even be a match for you. And thanks to your bullshit, I've had to step in for him until he's fully recovered."

Lenalee shot a wave of dark energy towards her opponent, using her scythe to send out 2 purple crescent shaped projectiles. "I don't care who you are at this point. If you're as strong as you say, then don't hold back." She watched in disbelief as the platinum blonde parried the wave with her bare hand, sending it toward a tree, and then stopping each of her projectiles with both hands. "No way. Th-that's impossible." Fear was plastered on her face, slowly backing away.

"YOU BITCH!" Minerva shouted as her fist was encased in fire, punching Lenalee in the face. Wherever she came from, Minerva had enough force behind her to send her flying. Although Lenalee regained her footing, her face was clearly bruised, especially where Minerva's made contact. Minerva was furious, the flames soon surrounding her wrists as she wore a pair of red and golden gauntlets on each hand that resembled the maw of a dragon. "You killed my first real friend since I've been here, and now I'll make sure tha-" She glanced at the platinum blonde who stood with her hands behind her head. "Sorry, but this is personal...but those clothes look familiar."

"HOLD IT!" The group from the infirmary ran towards the three females, everyone except for Harley and Leon showing signs of exhaustion. "Minerva, Meteos isn't dead."

"He isn't? Where is he?" She asked, her weapons disappearing as she looked around for the male.

"Well, here's the thing." The platinum blonde spoke, her azure eyes staring at the crimson haired female. "You're looking at him." Extending her hand in front of her, Ragnorak appeared before in a flash of darkish red light. "I had to just teach our friend here that killing Meteos isn't an acceptable outcome at this moment." She huffed out in frustration, crossing her arms. "But then you had to interrupt with a well deserved punch from god knows where."

"I...uh..okay. This is just..strange. This still doesn't tell us who you are." Minerva was just as confused as everyone else.

"Look, I can't tell you everything until it's the right moment, but my name is Xila, Meteos' guardian angel if you will. Anywho, guess I'll see you at the dorm, roomie." With that, Xila vanished.

Leon looked around, nudging Harley's shoulder. "So..I guess he's fine? Guess we've got to chat with Lenalee then."

"Everyone else, return to your dorms. We'll have to figure out what to do from here." Harley said as she ran a hand through her hair, looking up at the sky.

 _ **(Meanwhile)**_

Javier stretched his arms as he left the men's locker room, drying his face with a hand towel as he caught a glimpse of someone, but paid them no mind until he felt someone hug onto him from behind. "There's only one person who would be around here, isn't that right Allison?" He heard a chuckle from behind him.

"You know I like to check up on a few people who've caught my ey- I mean, I just happened to be around here after studying. Training for the match with Meteos?" Allison asked, wrapping her arm around Javier's.

Yeah, I think I developed a new technique that might throw those with formidable souls off balance. I still need to get it under control though." Javier said as they exited the training building, seeing the night sky above them. "You live in the eastern dorms right? I'll escort you since it's so dark out."

Allison smiled. "Aww, how sweet. You're so thoughtful, Javi." She rested her head against his arm as they walked to the entrance of her dorms. "Well, thanks for walking with me. I really appreciate it. Maybe I'll have to battle once for you as thanks." She winked as she gave him a peck on the cheeks before running off.

Just as Javier was going to his own dorm building on the western side of campus, he saw a platinum blonde pass by him. When he did a double take, the platinum blonde was no longer there, only Meteos walking toward the eastern dorms. _W-who…was that?_

 _ **(A month later)**_

There were four tournaments going on at the same time with each of the student council members as the final opponents. They were formatted into 8 person brackets with the 1st place winner facing off against against one of the four, but the student council member wouldn't be selected until the semifinals and wouldn't be revealed until after the finals. Meteos sighed as he looked at the brackets and their rosters. Angelo, Rey, Lenalee, Dax, Bucky, and Javier had all signed up for a tournament and even those would be randomized. However, the committee wouldn't allow more than two of the top 12 students in one tournament. The thought of each of them coming after him for a battle made him shudder. Was this really the life he signed up for?

"Hey, Meteos. Everything okay?" Leon called over, who was lounging in a chair while staring up at the ceiling.

"I don't know if it's anticipation or just the overwhelming feeling of having to face one of them so soon." Meteos replied, handing the sheet to Alyssia.

Harley giggled at him. "I'm sure it's a mixture of both. After being ridiculed for so long, you now have a chance to prove your worth but at the cost of being everyone's target. But don't worry, we'll have your back."

"Yeah, and plus I owe you one Meteos." Alyssia chimed in, rustling up his hair as she rubbed his head. "So, I promise to not show you a disappointing battle. That goes for all of you as well."

Leon stood up and walked to the student council's kitchen area, returning with a red velvet cake. "I had planned on making this before the whole Lenalee incident, but I thought that with this little string of tournaments coming up that now would be a great time to share some slices."

"You made this? It looks amazing." Meteos said with his eyes wide open.

Harley smiled as she got small dishes and forks. "Oh, it's somewhat of a secret but Leon here is a fantastic baker. In fact, he's the rumored baker that has anonymously sold their cakes for the last few years."

Alyssia and Meteos took a bite, humming in delight at the taste. "Dude, you should work as a pastry chef on the side. You'd probably make a decent amount of money." Alyssia said, already half done with her slice.

Leon smiled, crossing his arms. "Glad you like it. Since we've got a couple hours before the final brackets are posted and we're selected, I thought we could relax and watch the various battles going on."

Meteos glanced at Leon's left shoulder, seeing something unfamiliar on Leon he'd never paid attention to before. "Hey, what's that tattoo on your arm?"

"Oh, this? It's my family's insignia, and a constant reminder that a Knight's job is never done." Leon sat back down, taking a piece of cake for himself.

"I see… At least you had a family. I was treated like an outsider in the Dezmond household for so long." Meteos gazed solemnly out the window.

"Really? I'd heard that the Dezmonds were relatively nice people." Harley said, confused.

"Not to failures of the family they don't." Looking down, Meteos saw his fists were clenched and shaking before he calmed himself down. "I'd rather not talk about this right now. Perhaps we talk about it another time, I just want to focus on the battles to come."

"Believe it or not, you're not the only one with a past you don't want to talk about and I can respect that." Harley stood up and walked over to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Just don't forget that you have people to talk to." Leon and Alyssia stood behind her, smiling as well.

"Thanks. I'm glad that you guys are my friends." Meteos said, cheering up. _But can I ever come to terms with what...or who I am?_

An hour later, the brackets had been formed and each of the four main arenas had been selected. Dax and Angelo were in one tourney, Allison and Bucky were in another, Lenalee and Rey in the third and Javier and Minerva in the last one. "Minerva and Allison signed up? Well, that should be a good series of matches. However, there's one match I'm worried about." Leon said, glancing at Meteos.

Sighing, Meteos nipped his thumb. "Luckily, all these pairings wouldn't happen until the final matches before they face one of us…but I'm worried how Rey will fare against Lenalee. I'll admit, Rey is stubborn and has tunnel vision in terms of strategy. He always wants to be someone else's pillar…but that's honestly his best quality. Given his determination, he might do better than we think."

"But there's no way he can win at the moment, right? Isn't he upper rank C to mid rank B?" Alyssia asked.

"Exactly. Now, I'm not saying it's impossible…but given his potential opponent, it'll seem impossible."

Harley pushed her red hair from her face. "It's almost like you want a rematch with her, which is understandable. But if you don't mind me asking, why?"

Meteos smiled. "It's rather complicated, but you could say that our families are connected in some way. Look into it if you want to find out." He chuckled. "If you can that is."

"Well, I'll leave that tournament to you. I want to face the winner of Dax and Angelo's match." Alyssia said, taking the bracket quickly.

"Harley, I'll let you pick between the last tw-" Leon started off as she snatched the second tournament, featuring Javier and Minerva. "Gee, thanks Harley. I get that I was being nice but we could have talked it over." He said with a smirk on his face. The other three laughed, Leon joining in as they turned on the T.V in the room, watching the first matches start off. However, as they watched the predictable matches pass, Meteos couldn't help but shudder when Lenalee won her match unscathed, staring right at the camera as if she knew he was watching.

Meteos reached into his pocket, pulling out Lenalee's choker with the mysterious pendant on it. "I have to face her. It's the only way I can get through to her, and it's the only thing that can push me to my limit and show her that she's not alone." He muttered to himself.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Leon asked, his hearing being better than most. This question also alerted Harley and Alyssia.

"I'm not sure if you've noticed some of her mannerisms lately, but I think she has multiple personalities. And I think this choker of hers was keeping those personalities in check as well as her powers." Meteos replied, scratching his head. "Aside from Harley, who's faced Lenalee before, I think I can relate to her just as well."

"What makes you think that?" Harley glanced at Meteos, intrigued by his logic.

"I know what it's like to have that feeling of nothingness all too well, and this is coming from the 'Failure of the Dezmond family'. Hell, it's the reason why I worked so hard to be who I am today. So, I promise you that no matter the outcome of the battle between Lenalee and Rey that you'll see me no longer hold back unnecessarily." Meteos smiled. Looking back at the screen, Meteos watched as the second round of battles had begun, and the potential confrontation between him and Lenalee grew close.

 **Hey guys, it's Chrono-...well Kingslayer now, but you know what I mean. So, what do you guys think after this long hiatus of mine. I'm aware it's shorter, but it paves the way into the next four fight scenes. Who do you think will win, who they hell is Xila, and why did I include a gender bend scene? Tune in next time to learn more, but let me know what you thought about the chapter. Also after reading RussianXRouletteXValentineXoxo's Origin series, I've decided to follow in her footsteps and start doing that for Cavalry Academia and subsequently Sacred Ink. Hope you've enjoyed, because you wont wanna miss the next one.**


	8. Battles galore

**(Arena A: Fields of Judgement)**

The arena was packed as the rematch from a month ago was close to starting. On the jumbotron screens on specific walls, clips of Angelo and Dax in their previous played as they each displayed flashy moves that left the audience in awe as they watched the replays. Soon after that, stats of both Angelo and Dax appeared next to each other, having very similar offensive and defensive capabilities. Everyone was eager to see the outcome of this battle as it was rumored that one of the four student council members would battle the finalist, but the identity of that person was unknown. Suddenly, the main lights grew dim as the screens showed the two competitors' faces as Dax and Angelo stepped onto the grassy battlefield. The two stood a couple yards away from each other as the ground beneath them activated, creating an invisible barrier around the battleground.

"This seems familiar doesn't it, Angelo?" Dax said as he looked around at the cheering crowd while cracking his knuckles.

"Yeah, a lil before a certain student council president decided to cut our fight short." Angelo chuckled as he stretched his arms.

(Flashback)

 _Just as all four fighters rushed each other for a large final collision, Harley summoned water out of thin air, creating a bubble that trapped each combatant, lifted them in the air and exploded, sending them back to the ground. Walking to the center of the field, Harley looked to the crowd with a calm look. "Sorry to cut this short, but I have something urgent to tend to." With that, she ran off just as quickly as she intervened._

 **(Present)**

"A Rank-A against a Rank-C. Usually, I wouldn't take this sort of challenge seriously, but since our last fight, I can tell just by the look in your eyes that you'll give me the fight I've long since been looking for." Dax said, punching his knuckles together as his brass knuckles appeared in a burst of impressive flames. "You've had a month to train, so please don't disappoint me."

Angelo smirked as he stomped on the ground, causing his double-bladed battleaxe to erupt from the ground and catch it in the air. "Aye, and I expect the same from you, pal." He replied, pointing his weapon at Dax as they stared at each other, waiting for that fateful sound for the fight to begin.

Let's go Ahead!

 **(Arena B: Justice Caverns)**

Meanwhile, the second semifinal match was just about start as a majority had known who Bucky was, but were amazed by the petite girl who made it this far without even using her weapon. As he stared at the shy purple haired female, Bucky couldn't help but think that she was still holding back. "Hey…Allison was it?" He asked suddenly as they stood on the cave like battleground, large rocks acting as cover.

"Hmm? What is it?" Allison asked in return, adjusting her glasses as she looked over the taller male.

"I get that you might have had an easy road to get here, and I've never seen you battle before, but could you not hold back? I'd rather we both get the most out of this battle if we give it our all." He suggested.

She giggled. "I don't know. Asking for full power means that you're asking to get nuked. Guess you'll have to earn it like everyone else if you don't lose in one hit like everyone else."

Gritting his teeth slightly, Bucky summoned Whiplash, holding the chain behind his body as he spun it clockwise. "I see you're also underestimating me, but that's fine. A cocky attitude means that you'll be in for a rude awakening."

"Wait, I didn't say that because I didn't think-" Allison started, seeing she misunderstood him.

Let's Go Ahead!

Allison sighed as the battle started, hiding behind cover. "Dammit, that's not what I meant!" She yelled, holding a fireball in her palm.

Strafing around each rock, Bucky moved towards Allison's position, his 12-foot long chain sliding along the ground. "Well, what did you mean? Please, by all means, explain." He responded, his voice echoing around her.

Clenching her fist, Allison pressed her index finger into the rock she was hiding behind as she set some sort of trap. "Well, what I meant was that-"

While she was distracted, Bucky pulled the extended chain as the spiked weight ricocheted against the rocks and the ground, striking Allison's right shoulder, causing some blood to splatter on the ground and his weapon. "Maybe you should focus more on fighting than talking." He said with a chuckle.

"So, we're gonna play like that huh?" Allison giggled as her body disappeared and her trap set off as three homing fireballs shot towards Bucky. Slicing each in half, it created a large smokescreen. "I guess you are stronger than most I've fought. I'll show you the respect you're owed, but don't say I didn't warn you." She said as her voice echoed eerily, as she held her hands before her, summoning her weapon: a five and a half foot long oak staff with a large light blue crystal on the top-end of it with purple cloth for her to hold onto it.

"This is a tough game of hide and seek. Interesting." Bucky couldn't help but smile as he burst into his transformed state.

"Aww, how cute." Allison could be heard laughing as Bucky felt a sudden pinch on his cheeks. "If I weren't already interested in someone, I'd make you mine~." She teased as her giggling continued.

The smokescreen slowly dispersed as Bucky saw different clones of the purple-eyed female holding what looked to be a mage staff. "Illusions, huh?"

"Oh, by the way, I've set up a minefield , and each trap does different things. Let's hope you find the actual me. And even if you do, that doesn't mean the end of it. But I wonder, will you be too worn out before then?" The Allison clones circled Bucky, each one getting cut in half by Bucky's kusarigama in a flash of lightning.

As Bucky sighed, he looked around him as he began searching the rocky maze. "The hell kind of opponent am I facing?" He muttered as he kept his guard up.

 **(Arena A)**

Dax and Angelo had already made a mess of things as they clashed with each other, many craters in the ground around them before they even transformed. Both of them seemed to be evenly matched as they hopped away from each other, barely breaking a sweat.

"Oi, Dax. Shall we stop messing around?" Angelo asked, receiving a nod from his opponent. As both of them smirked, they channeled their powers as rock and fire surrounded their bodies, escaping their elemental cocoons in their transformed states and rushing at each other once more as metal struck metal, smiles on both their faces.

Alyssia laughed silently from her perch in the rafters as she watched from above. "A bunch of meatheads fighting it out…but they seem to be having fun." She muttered to herself as she ate one of her favorite Dangos. "Well, whoever wins will be in for a fight for their life when they face me."

Back on the field, Dax narrowly avoided Angelo's larger battleaxe, glancing at the blade as it cleaved into the ground, seeing the word "King" engraved on it with the letters K and I lit up. "Guess you're not a pushover, but you've still got much to learn." With Angelo within range, Dax sent a flurry of punches to his stomach, the last punch encased in flames as he gave the "King" an uppercut, catching the underside of his chin. "A hit like that should-"

"Should render me useless right?" Angelo chuckled as he withstood that barrage, glaring at Dax. He stuck Dax with the rod of his battleaxe while pulling out the ground, swinging his blade low to slice one of his ankles and his chest, lighting up the N and part of the G. "How's that?"

Dax grunted, falling to one knee while holding one hand to his chest as blood slowly seeped from his ankle and upper body. "Heh, not bad, but.." It happened so quickly that Angelo could barely react as Dax grabbed onto him and everything went dark. Strikes came from every direction possible as pain filled his senses. A loud roar resonated throughout the arena as Angelo joined in on the slugfest, trading blows midst the darkness. The crowd could only see the glowing word KING on the ground as two silhouettes punched each other. When the lights came back on, both Dax and Angelo were panting and keeled over as they spat out blood. While Angelo was definitely more battered and bruised, Dax was in no better shape, especially with the cuts to his chest and ankle.

"Let's finish this shall we?" Dax said, struggling to stand.

"Yeah, why not?" Angelo replied, just as exhausted as he held his battleaxe

The two fighters ran for each other, ready to end the battle. As they closed the distance, Angelo smashed his weapon into the ground, causing the ground beneath Dax to erupt as shards of rock shot upward, giving Angelo the chance to leap into the air. Smashing his fist into the ground, intense flames melted the small rocks, giving Dax the chance to look up, only to see a gigantic rock hurtling towards him. As it came closer, the single rock was cut into chunks as a storm of rocks shot down.

Dax clenched his fists as he punched through each stone, turning them into nothing more than rubble. Suddenly, Angelo came out from underground, cutting through his body with his claw, sending Dax flying into the wall, denting it as he fell to the ground unconscious.

Angelo lifted his hand in the air as he fell onto his back. "I-I won."

"Did you now?" Angelo's eyes widen as he suddenly felt something tap his stomach, looking to see Dax place his fist on his chest, clenching it before an immense amount of force was sent through Angelo's body, knocking him out unconscious as the ground cracked beneath him.

The crowd stared in awe before erupting in cheers. "A one inch punch to finish it…I never thought I'd get to use it." Dax said, sitting down next to Angelo's unconscious body. "I've got to admit, you almost had me there. So feel free to challenge me again in the future."

 **(Arena B)**

Bucky panted as he was slowly growing tired as he dodged various flame-based traps and illusions, finding what was a safe spot for the time being. "Perhaps I've made a mistake in asking for her full power, but I don't regret it. After all, I get to try out something new." Grinning, Bucky tossed the spiked weight of Whiplash high into the air as it acted as a receiver, draining a bit of the electricity in the arena before pulling it and slamming it into the ground.

"Slamming the ground with that weight won't help you." Allison said to herself, monitoring his movements from behind a rock 10 yards away. "Unless…No, way, he couldn't have." Looking around, Allison could see multiple blue sparks around her as the entire field lit up with electrical currents, shocking her in the process while also destroying the large rocks. As she fell to her knees, Bucky walked over to her with a blue electrical aura around him with his weapon in his left hand, Allison was impressed with his strategy.

"I call it Thunder Detonation, but I wouldn't have come up with it so quickly if I hadn't faced you." He grinned, crossing his arms. "However, unless you've got something else under your sleeve, you might as well surrender."

"Surrender? Did you just tell me to surrender?!" Flames rose around Allison as she glared at Bucky, startling him. "Sleight of hand is my specialty, Mr. Hart. So if you think that I didn't plan for something like this, then you must be mistaken." Shadows pulled her into the ground momentarily as she suddenly appeared out of thin air behind him with her clothing taking on a gothic style. Wearing a long black dress with dark purple ribbons adorned on it in various places and an even darker purple cardigan, she also levitated a few inches off the ground and eerie purple flames glowed from each hand.

Bucky took a step back. "Wh-what the hell?" He couldn't fathom why he was caught off guard but even averting his eyes from her gaze, and whenever he did make eye contact with her, Bucky couldn't shake the feeling of utter terror growing within him. He suddenly gripped Whiplash tight, pressing the blade against his right palm as it slowly drew blood, calming himself.

"I'll give you enough time to calm yourself. I wouldn't want you passing out without putting up a good fight. Hell, I don't even really fight that often. I just had to keep a promise to someone I know." Allison said turning away as she blushed, snapping her fingers as a ring of fire surrounded Bucky. "Either way, this is checkmate my friend."

"How are you a Knight? I thought Knights were more about physical attacks. Based on your fighting style, you're more like a mage." Bucky stared at the floating female as she circled around him.

"A mage huh? I never actually considered it." Allison stopped, seeming to swing back and forth like a chandelier for a moment before she floated to the ground. "You have one chance to make out of this on top and if you screw it up, you lose no matter how durable you think you are." A small fireball appeared at the ceiling of the arena, slowly descending until it stopped 50 feet above them.

"One chance huh? Then don't blame yourself if you lose." Bucky replied, spinning Whiplash above his head as it spun faster and faster, causing the ring of fire around him to dissipate while creating a miniature tornado that slowly grew larger as the lengthy electric chain extended.

"Hmm, interesting. But how will that help you?" Allison asked, adjusting her glasses before gripping her staff tighter. She could see that the blade was slowly swinging closer to her and if she missed the timing, her body would get swept in the maelstrom. With a quick turn of her body, Bucky's weapon struck the oak staff, the blade barely missing her left shoulder. However, it continued to move despite being blocked, pulling her body into the harsh winds, slicing up her body.

"That's how it'll help me." Bucky seemed to ride the electricity up the tornado, reaching her body as it descended into the eye of the storm. Grabbing her staff, he, threw it into the fireball overhead while causing the storm to disperse, landing next to Allison's tattered body with Whiplash in hand. "If that's all you've got, then I might as well end this."

Despite her heavy breathing, Allison began laughing, confusing Bucky. "Look up, smartass." As they both glanced at the fireball, it began changing to a purple color as Allison's body turned into chains, binding his arms and legs.

"Impossible. When?" He said bewildered, as Allison moved from behind the blaze while gripping her staff, the oak now a black metal.

"Right when you were trying to calm yourself down. I won't go into every detail, but I endured that entire attack while putting you into the right position for an active trap." Looking at her body, Allison's body was just as tattered and cut, with one of the frames of her glasses broken. "But, it was a nice effort."

Turning her back, Allison's fireball dropped onto Bucky like a bomb, causing a contained explosion that covered the entire arena, keeping all the smoke and flames inside the invisible barrier. As the clouds of dust cleared, Allison was standing as Bucky's body fell to the ground unconscious, the clothes on his upper body almost completely burned off.

"I've heard that you can take a Draco Meteor, but apparently Hellfire seemed to work just fine." Allison said before she walked off the battlefield, leaving behind a roar of cheers.

 **(Arena C: The Sky Lord's Temple)**

Rey anxiously waited in his locker room as he had about an hour until his semi-final battle with his toughest opponent yet. He was ready for the challenge, but Rey couldn't help but remember the aftermath of Meteos's first battle with Lenalee.

"Everything okay in here, bro?" Rey looked over to see Meteos walking in. "I was just checking in on you before the fight."

"W-well, considering who I'm fighting, who wouldn't be a bit intimidated by Lenalee. I'm sure you've been training for the last month, but I'm not sure if I've trained enough to even keep up with her. Rey said, sighing. "Maybe I'd be better off just forfeiting."

"In most cases, I would I have agreed with you and tried to persuade to have done so in the first place, but if you've decided to follow me to this school to make a name for yourself, then no brother of mine is going to give up on himself so easily." Meteos said, giving him a heartfelt hug. "You've got speed on your side and the determination to pull through any grim situation. I won't force you to fight her, but I think you have what it takes. It's up to you to determine whether or not you're ready." With that, Meteos gave Rey a pat on the head before walking out.

Adjusting his white blazer jacket, he walked down the hallway, seeing Lenalee leaned against the wall, motioning for him to follow her into her waiting room. "We need to talk, Meteos."

"Talk about what? Last I checked, part of you wanted to kill me and the other part of you wants to seduce me." Meteos said, crossing his arms.

Lenalee gripped the side of her head as she glared at Meteos. "Who the hell told you that, Dezmond?"

"Tsk, tsk, Simca. Asami wouldn't like that you tried to kill me before she's had her way with me." Meteos grinned as he walked towards Lenalee, cracking his knuckles.

Lenalee picked Meteos up by his collar, her face inches away from hers. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you now." She threatened.

"I can give two. One: empty threats have no place here. And two: my father has already spoken with hers. It's been finalized."

"What's been finali-" Lenalee spoke before Meteos kissed her lips, shocking her before she begrudgingly joined in as their tongues fought for dominance, pulling away after a while with a strand of saliva breaking between them.

"It's quite simple. You're my fiancée, love." Meteos said, licking his lips as his chest pressed against her ample bosom. "If you want to terminate our imminent marriage, then you'll have to beat Rey and the student council member in the finals."

 **Lets just say I had a very productive few days that I put out a new chapter so quickly. Did I have a particular method behind picking the winners of those fights? Nope, other than going with what I thought would help make future chapters more interesting. Besides, there's more than enough time for rematches. Anyway, I'm aware that I was a bit "generous" with some of the transformed state descriptions, but I was more or less focusing on story progression. If you really want those descriptions, then I'll make sure to work on from now on. But if you don't really mind, you can always re-read previous chapters to get reacquainted with their transformations.**

 **As for the whole "Let's Go Ahead" thing, if you've watched the anime, before each battle the automated system would say that in order to start off a match. In other news, I'm opening up the OC form again, but I'm only going to accept 6 more students. Now, if you wanted to send in an adult OC (particularly a mentor), I'd be accepting 3 or 4 of those. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and speculate what will happen next.**


	9. A new power awakens

**Author's notes: Now, as a small update, I've recently gotten a job, but it won't slow down the hype train. In addition, my birthday is in 18 days...yay 21 years of age. Anyway, the real update is the addition of Abilities, Techniques and Noble Arts. Noble Arts are basically what the weapon augments are: Skills that make a weapon more formidable in relation to the user's soul's typing. Techniques are learned skills either from a mentor or something they've learned on their own. Abilities are broken down into two categories: Natural and Inherited. The only difference between the two are that Natural abilities are ones obtained through training while inherited are those passed down by family members. Also, I hoped you guys appreciated the little "Raging Demon" bit between Angelo and Dax. I figured a slugfest between the two was more than appropriate. Now, onto the story**

Lenalee was left at a loss for words, part of her wanting to strangle Meteos, another part of her was attracted to him and his sudden straightforwardness, but her true self couldn't help but think that there was something else behind his proposal. "You still didn't tell me how you knew who Simca and Asami were. I've never told anyone about their names."

"It's simple really. Remember Xila?" Meteos asked, his thumb pointing behind his back as a silhouette of the platinum blonde female appeared behind him, mouthing 'Yo'. "Well, she seems to have known their names and let me how to recognize them. She also has told me that Simca is the stronger personality of you."

Lenalee gritted her teeth as Simca took over. "So why should we consider this after everything that's happened? And how do we know this isn't some sort of trick?"

Meteos sighed, releasing Lenalee and leaned against one of the nearby lockers. "My family has despised me from the day of my birth. Aside from Rey, they've all been wishing for my failure and have put no effort into helping me achieve my success." He looked up to the ceiling before staring back at Lenalee. "They didn't want a monster for a son, and wouldn't want him becoming the heir to the family."

"So you understand what's that's like to become alienated by your family as well?" Lenalee asked, her facial features softening as she stood by him. "But how? I always thought someone like you would have come from a pompous family."

Meteos laughed. "My circumstances made sure that I would be humble regardless of my status. But it's also the reason why my powers were sealed for so long…which is why I'm doing this." He held the black crystal in his hand, tossing her black choker to her as he crushed it in his hand, the dark power returning to her body.

"Are you stupid?! That was to keep myself under control! How else am I supposed to manage my other personalities now?" Lenalee asked angrily.

"It's unfitting for my bride to be held back by such limiters. That crystal was the reason why you lost, correct? Then through sheer willpower, you should be able to handle it on your own. And if not…" Meteos paused, tilting her head towards his as he began kissing on her neck, causing her to blush. "Then. I'll tame you myself then." With that he walked off. "Oh, and good luck with your challenge."

As he left Lenalee standing there with red cheeks, Meteos couldn't help but smile as Xila's voice rang through his head. _"_ _What was that all about?"_

"Oh nothing. If she loses against Rey, then I win. If she wins, it'll be an even greater show for her. And at the end of all that, it's all to get back at that man I supposedly call 'Father'." Meteos muttered as he made his way to his seat in the arena.

This arena looked much different compared to the others, being dedicated to Rayquaza and having a Japanese styled interior, the battleground floor was reinforced wood that was just as hard as the ground itself. What made this arena unique was that the combatants could see and hear what the audience couldn't unless if they looked at the giant screen: the howling winds and sounds of a lurking Rayquaza, almost as if they were transported to another place entirely. Some say that if a battle got intense enough, Rayquaza would cause environmental hazards. It could even cause the scenery to change to an open mountain peak, surrounded by nothing but clouds with nothing else but the Sky Lord gazing down upon the battle, occasionally interrupting the fight with moves of his own. However, that was only a myth started by previous upperclassmen that had already graduated and become successful Knights.

Cheers erupted as Lenalee stepped out onto the temple floor, brushing her hair out of her face as she glanced around, catching a glimpse of green scales midst the heavy fog before seeing Rey come in as well. Just from his posture alone, he could also sense a lurking presence around him. "Scared? Maybe the rumors are true." She teased.

Rey visibly shudder, taking a deep breath to calm himself before zeroing in on his opponent. "None of the matters. I'm willing to deal with all of that in order to take you down." He said somewhat confidently.

"You sure? Just as a heads up, I won't be holding back, even if you are his brother." Lenalee replied, cracking her knuckles. She vowed to prevail in Meteos' challenge, even if it meant holding back Simca and Asami and having her own self control for once.

Rey grinned as he stretched his arms above his head. "I appreciate the warning, but I've been to subjected to rigorous training, and I've even developed a new skill of mine even further." He responded.

 **Let's Go Ahead!**

Lenalee started off with her bow as Rey's claw-like metal gloves appeared on his hands. As she drew back the wire, Rey took off running towards her at high speeds. Aiming down at the ground, she let an arrow hit the ground, causing a slight explosion and giving her cover as Rey ran into the smokescreen. Despite not having transformed yet, Rey could still pick up small sounds of movement, somersaulting out of the way as arrows rained down from above, piercing the ground where he would have been.

Midst the fog, something caused the calm wind to kick up as Lenalee came up with an idea. "Let's see how you like this." Pulling her arrow back, Lenalee purposely aimed in such a way that Rey could evade it as the arrow stuck a pillar behind him only to break into 5 equal sized arrows. Normally, two or three of them wouldn't have hit their mark unless she aimed relatively close to the ground where they stood. However, with the wind picking up as it did, the current directed all five arrows towards Rey's back.

It seemed like it would have hit him perfectly, but he managed to narrowly dodge and evade her attack as the wind current sent them into the ground at Lenalee's feet. "How the hell? I was sure that he had no clue, even with this wind." She said to herself, brushing her hair from her face. Backpedaling, Lenalee continued to rapid-fire arrows against the wind as they shot towards Rey, who slashed through or dodged them. There was one moment where she had led Rey into a perfect spot, shooting three arrows at once after getting him to strafe to his left, but just as unexplainably as before, adjusted his weight and cut right through them, nearing Lenalee.

Rey swung his left fist down, which Lenalee used her spinal bow to block it, but his attack seemed to disappear as he swung horizontally, causing her to jump back, her uniform slightly cut by his attack. "Tsk, so close. I still don't understand how you beat my brother if you're taking this seriously as you told me to." Rey seemed a bit fired up, having gotten over his previous anxiety of talking to other people.

"The way you've dodged to countered my attacks…no, that's not something your Soul is doing. Is that the technique you've honed?" Lenalee asked, her bow disappearing and in its place her black spinal scythe.

"You've already figured it out huh? Well, I'll only tell you if you tell me how you've been able to mirror other people's moves." He responded, catching Lenalee off guard.

"So you've noticed too?"

"Actually, my brother may have made mention of it. Or perhaps I happened to study your footage and saw how you mimic their moves. It's something to do with your eyes, doesn't it?" Rey asked, crossing his arms.

Lenalee closed her eyes before slowly opening them once more, her ombre colored eyes seeming to glow as they stared back at him. "It's not a technique, but something I was born with that developed over time. It could be called 'Perfect Vision' but I prefer Empress Sight." She smiled, gripping her weapon. "And yours must be something as impressive."

"Well, if it's as analytic as I think it is, then you should know that your body's natural reflexes have no way of mimicking mine. Just as your ability is natural, so is my Marginal Counter." Rey grinned as he transformed before Lenalee, donning his battle suit as his claw-like gloves became sharper and his hair now turning purple. "Now hurry up and transform so I can brag about this win to my brother."

Meteos sat in the crowd, shaking his head as he watched Lenalee's body became enveloped in a dark aura. "He really wants to prove himself. I'll admit, he's gotten stronger than I imagined, but asking for her best might do him in." He said to himself, continuing to watch her transformation as wind surrounded her, blocking her from everyone else until it was cut away by her scythe.

Where Lenalee stood, her previously platinum hair was now indigo, blue on top with black fading towards the ends. Even her hairstyle had been altered, brandishing two large pigtails. In fact, the length of her hair was so long that it reached just above her ankles. Ombre eyes had now become a deep magenta, were much sharper and meaner looking as her pupils became reptilian in nature. Additionally, two long serpent like beings grew out from her back and coiled around each arm, also gaining a black tail a few feet long. Her clothes underwent a metamorphosis as well, wearing a black fitted collar dress tat reached down to her mid thigh with a small opening in the center of her chest, accentuating her cleavage with sleeves that went past her hands, the edges having purple feathers. With a blue skirt around her waist, she wore black thigh length stockings and a pair of blue calf length boots with black fur around the ankles. And to top it all off, she wore a black fur vest with purple feathers that went over her shoulders and under her arms.

The entire display caught Rey off guard as he leapt to the ceiling that was 20 feet high, avoiding a Dark Pulse, falling onto his feet as her looked over at Lenalee. "This overwhelming pressure…incredible." Rey couldn't help but slightly avert his gaze as it looked like three pairs of eyes were trained on him.

"What happened to that bravado earlier? Don't tell me you've given up already, little Dezmond." Lenalee taunted, pushing herself forward as she swung her scythe down, her black blade with a magenta stripe going across it piercing the ground.

Rey appeared behind her as she pulled her weapon from the ground. "Of course not. In fact, you'll be the one paralyzed with fear." Grinning, Rey moved at such high speeds that Lenalee barely felt the claws hit her legs as she fell to one knee, feeling pain and sudden paralysis afterwards.

"H-haha, very funny." Lenalee said as she slowly stood up, gripping onto her scythe as even making one step was difficult. "I've heard of something like this…Prankster isn't it?"

"If you knew that, then you should know you can't copy that either. And with your movements restricted, you'll make for an easier opponent." Rey said pacing around Lenalee like a hunter pushing its prey into a corner.

"Is that so? Unfortunately, you've done nothing but piss me off more." With an evil grin, the serpents bite into her hands as she slowly stood up, her eyes glowing brighter than before. "I've gotten a good enough feel for you to happily say that you're worth the effort of destroying."

 **(Arena D: Freezing Point Forest)**

The battlefield was riddled with snow as the start to the next battle had already begun, artificial snow falling as Javier and Minerva went to separate ends of the field and what was becoming a dangerous game of hide and seek. With his back against a tree, Javier slowed his breathing as he gripped his black ballistic knife with its white chrome blade. He'd lost sight of Minerva but he could see flames being tossed past his location randomly, melting the snow as it went by. Unaware of her position, he sighed in frustration as he strafed around the tree and ran towards another, catching a glimpse of Minerva's red hair as she slowly walked. Gathering up enough snow, he tossed a snowball to a tree Minerva walked under, causing more snow to fall down on her. Simply holding her hand in the air, she easily melted the falling snow as Javier made his mode towards her, feinting as he made the motion to attack, but spun around to her back to attack her. However, Minerva's right hand gripped his wrist, pulling him forward only to trip him and connect her elbow with the back of his head, sending him to the ground.

"C'mon, I'm a bit tired of playing cat and mouse. Just because I'm a princess of another region doesn't mean that I like to be kept waiting." She said, tapping her foot on the ground. "Although, I don't mind entertaining you. You're definitely one of the more impressive 'normal' Knights."

Javier grunted as he got up off the ground. "What do you mean by 'normal'? I'm aware that I'm at a disadvantage due to the difference in stre-"

"Having magical powers doesn't make you strong, as you can see by the previous people you've fought and won against." Minerva walked in front of him, throwing a punch, stopping before it made contact as a claw-like gauntlet appeared on each hand, her left hand made with jet black and azure blue metals while the right was red and golden. "Enough talking, let's fight."

Javier smiled, tossing his ballistic knife into the air as it disappeared, gripping the new weapon that landed in his hands: his own red kusarigama as he held the sickle in his left while spinning the chain and iron ball in his right.

Minerva took a boxer's stance before advancing forward, only to have her progress halted by the sickle making its way toward her at a horizontal angle, clanging against her left gauntlet as a surprising amount of force sent her off to the right a couple of meters before planting her feet in the ground and skidding to a stop. Just as she turned toward Javier, he was already a few feet from her before he swept her legs with his knife in his hand again, getting in a cut on her right arm before backing off.

 _What? How'd he switch between weapons so quickly?_ Minerva thought to herself, hopping to her feet. Whatever his trick was, she couldn't help but smile as she placed her left gauntlet on her right arm, sealing the wound shut with incredible heat that didn't seem to faze her. "Nice trick." Minerva said as a fireball formed in her right hand, crushing it in her hand before tossing it airborne where it rained down smaller flame projectiles where Javier was. Each flame seared the trees or ground, one nearly hitting Javier as he tried to take cover.

Javier peeked from behind his cover only to see that Minerva was on his right, grabbing his arm as she pulled him towards her, clocking him in the face with her right gauntlet, sending him to the ground.

"Face it. You might be pretty good, but you're basically target practice when it comes to facing high level blazers." Minerva said, standing over him.

Javier sighed from the ground. Part of him knew she was right, but he had many things to prove to his family and in particular Meteos, the one person he thought understood him. "Maybe you're right, but…" He leaned up, pulling hard on a chain. It happened so quickly that Minerva could barely react as the iron ball shot towards her, hitting the back of her head hard, sending her to the ground. "I can't simply give up just because I'm at a disadvantage. I-I'm not WEAK!" Anger present in his voice, there was a sudden increase in magical power surrounding Javier as he stood up, his ballistic knife and kusarigama dissipating as a double bladed rapier with a golden crown shaped hilt was in his hand. With his newfound strength, he picked Minerva up by the back of her of her shirt, tossing her a few feet into the air, thrusting his rapier upward as it came in contact with her, causing a sudden burst of energy to shoot out of her back as the fell to the ground, unconscious. The crowd erupted in cheers as Javier panted, suddenly feeling drained. _W-What was that power?_ He thought as he fell to the ground in exhaustion.

 **(Arena C)**

Rey had been tossed to the ground, battered and bruised as Lenalee gripped her scythe with one hand, leaning it against her shoulder, the dark aura still surrounding her body. "Just give up already. It's clear that there's a vast difference in our power." She said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"N-no, I c-can't still fight…" Rey barely replied, out of breath. His body was covered in cuts and a few burns as he struggled to his feet. Meteos gritted his teeth as he watched his brother valiantly hold on, but knew that sooner or later he was going to end up on the ground. Part of him wanted to tell Rey that he should forfeit before the fight, but that was before he watched Lenalee overpower him with whatever trick of hers she used to break free of her paralysis.

Lenalee kicked Rey to the ground, stepping onto his chest as she pointed her palm at Rey's body, the serpent coiled around her right arm opening its maw as a silver stream of escaped it. It created an immense cloud of dust that slowly settled, with Rey's body nowhere to be found.

"This battle is over, Lenalee. Now, you face the designated student council member: me." Lenalee turned her head to see Meteos, holding his brother in his arms. Glaring at him, she watched as the medical team rushed to get Rey. "You did the best you could, but, you've definitely grown stronger." Meteos said to his brother before he was taken to ICU. Turning back to face Lenalee, he smiled. "So, you think you need a rest, or shall we jump right into the final fight?"

"No, I'm well enough. I just need to beat you, and judging from how weak your brother was, you shouldn't be that much more difficul-" It happened so quickly, Meteos' fist connecting with her jaw, followed up by a few body shots and ended with her being tossed to the ground. Lenalee didn't even see him move but he exceeded the speed his brother had in a matter of milliseconds.

"Get up, Cursed Jewel. It's time your fiancée took you down a notch." He said, staring into her eyes as Lenalee experienced fear for the second time in her life. She could see Meteos summon Ragnorak and hold the longsword within its sheath in his left hand while gripping the hilt with his right and couldn't stop visualizing him cutting into her body before she snapped out of it. The crowd couldn't contain itself as they began whispering amongst themselves about Lenalee being Meteos' fiancée

"Oh what's this? Finally a worthy match for me to watch?" A voice echoed as Rayquaza's eyes appeared from the side of the stage. Lenalee and Meteos looked around as the crowd had disappeared, nothing but heavy fog and the large legendary hovering before them outside. "Entertain me with an impressive match and I'll return you to your school."

"Hear that, love? Now I can beat you in front of a legendary. Isn't that wonderful?" Meteos smirked, seeing Lenalee's frustration.

"Keep it up. You won't be laughing much longer." Getting up off the ground and flipping backwards, she slowly floated to the ground as six small black wings sprouted from her back, retracting when she landed.

"But don't worry, I won't make the mistake of holding back again…never again." Meteos said as he drew his blade, the color draining from the sheath as the blade was jet black with a red hilt, the sheath now red and white. "Get ready, because you will be mine." Lenalee could hear the sinister tone in his voice, unsure if this was the same person she dealt with before.

 **Oh, I forgot to mention one thing, you can't choose what Techniques and Abilities you can get. I'll be the judge of that as I've taken balancing out everyone's skills to some degree. While yes, some are stronger than others, it's meant to be that way. Not every character is meant to be equal, at least not so quickly. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and following this chapter I'll give a description of the Abilities and/or Techniques that were mentioned. Remember to give a review on your take as to what you thought and there will be more twists and turns in the future. Also, there are still four more student OC spots available along with the 4 mentor OCs.**


	10. A new frontier

**Marginal Counter: A natural ability that allows the user to have reflexes as fast as .05 seconds, being able to adjust their bodies to narrowly dodge attacks that would otherwise hit or redirect attacks that would otherwise be blocked. However, as a result of using this ability too often, the user will deplete their stamina quicker.**

 **Empress Sight: A natural ability that allows it's user to have a phonographic memory and analyze a person's moves and mimic them. Using them too often will result in the occasional headache or blurry vision, but there is no determined limit to how much information can be stored. Certain moves that involve elements different from the user has or weapons the user doesn't have are only able to be analyzed and becomes completely useless when faced with movement or attacks that are too fast to be seen.**

Harley, Leon and Alyssia rushed to the third arena where the match just begun, with the live feed still showing their match. Midst the audience of students, they could hear murmurs of Lenalee and Meteos being fiancées and the urban legend among in the school that only those with connections to Legendaries would be the cause of Rayquaza's appearance.

"If that's true, then which one of them has ties to a Legendary?" Leon asked, scratching his chin while tapping his foot.

"Either one of them could be the reason for this happening. Harley, haven't you talked to Lenalee and Meteos separately?" Alyssia asked. "Surely one of them talked about their past."

"That's the thing. They were both vague enough descriptions for me to understand that have something that they've experienced something painful in their past." Harley said staring at the live feed as the two competitors had yet to move.

 **(Sky Lord's Domain)**

Meteos suddenly stabbed his blade into the ground before tossing a Sitrus Berry at Lenalee, which she caught with a confused. "I couldn't face you if you weren't at 100%, now could I? If I'm going to beat you, then you'll be at your best dammit." He grinned, wedging his sword out of the floor.

"You're a strange one…but I admire your intentions. It's a shame that you'll be disappointed when you lose." With a wicked smile, Lenalee ate the berry as her slowly wounds began to close up and heal. Gripping her scythe, she pointed it at him. "I want to hear you beg for mercy and if I don't, oh well." Her body leaned forward as she ran towards Meteos with her weapon dragging against the ground before getting close enough to make a diagonal descent swing.

Using the sheath as his off hand weapon, Meteos propelled himself forward to evade her attack and strafe behind her while swinging the blunt weapon at her, making for a seamless counterattack. However, Lenalee seemed to make the same maneuver as she ducked underneath his attack while making a counterattack of her own, resulting in a clash of blades as Meteos' two weapons blocked her own.

"Having second thoughts about having me at full strength?" Lenalee asked as Meteos was remarkably holding his ground against her transformed state, although he was clearly lacking in power.

"Nope. However…" Meteos jumped back as the scythe drove into the ground where he once stood. "It's clear that I'll have to give my all if I want to have any chance of beating you." Sheathing his blade once more, Meteos closed his eyes as his weapon disappeared and a blinding light filled the temple. As it died down, Lenalee's eyes widened as a large black greatsword pierced the ground. As he grabbed the hilt of the sword, the black metal also had hints of emerald infused into it as small green lines traveled along the blade, meeting at the middle where it looked like there was a closed eyelid. However, the most daunting part of the weapon was the trigger on the handle.

"What kind of weapon is that?" Lenalee muttered before dismissing her scythe as she called forth her bow, drawing back the wire. "It might be impressive, but something that big is sure to weigh a lot."

The wind began to pick up before Lenalee shot arrow after arrow as they raced towards Meteos, who sidestepped a few of them before stabbing the sword back into the ground and using it as cover. Grinning, she aimed a scattershot at the ceiling above Meteos where 5 new arrows rained down upon him. She couldn't see nor did she hear anything from him but continued her attack, running up to the wedged sword and flipping over it. Just as she caught a glimpse of him, she felt pain from her side, landing on her back. Looking back up, she saw Meteos simply leaning against the blade while holding onto four of the five arrows.

"Return to sender huh? Guess you didn't like that." He smirked, throwing the rest of the arrows her way, watching her push off the ground as she took flight. "You know, that flying is gonna be annoying for me to deal with. But either way, it seems our current difference in strength doesn't mean anything if the one with the advantage is losing."

Lenalee grit her teeth as she landed on the ground. "I was hoping you'd take this fight seriously, but it seems I overestimated you. I really thought you were the one…but you're just like all the others who've let me down." Pulling the wire back, she formed an arrow that was much different than the others she had fired. Releasing the shot, the arrow went through the ceiling of the temple and even make its way through the violent winds and soar into the heavens above.

"No, it couldn't be…" Meteos' eyes widened as seconds later he saw a giant meteor making it's way for their location. Turning around, Meteos saw that Lenalee had vanished, looking back at the sky to see her flying towards it. "What the hell is going on?"

"She means to destroy you, young one. Unless you get serious, you'll most likely die if you get hit by that." Rayquaza said, sighing. "And here I thought this fight wouldn't end with the destruction of the temple."

Walking towards his sword, Meteos pulled it from the ground and began pulling the trigger multiple times as it seemed to open the "eyelid" as it sounded like something was being revved up. The sword began to change in appearance as the middle of the blade opened up, revealing some sort of barrel for a gun. Taking a deep breath, Meteos an towards the edge of the temple and jumped off the cliff. As he fell into the fog below, a crimson light came from below, followed by a blur of red that passed by the Legendary and flew towards the descending meteor as it began to break apart.

"Meteor Rain!" Lenalee shouted as she reached the meteor first, cutting it into the space rock as it broke into smaller pieces that shot towards her pursuer. As the blur shot past the smaller projectiles, they were reduced to rubble as it neared its original target. However Lenalee's attack neared the temple, merely 300 yards away.

Suddenly, it began to slow to a stop, surprising Lenalee as she stood atop it. Looking to see the cause, she flew around to find a figure clad in red clothes with wings of his own on his back. "Meteos? So you've finally gotten serious."

Meteos tilted his head as he glanced at her. He currently was shirtless but wore a red jacket with a black furred collar with matching pants. His hair had turned into a darker shade of red while reminiscent of his natural hair color and his skin looked the same but his eyes had definitely changed. In particular, Lenalee couldn't see his eyes as a pair of red glasses were on his face. Feeling this new energy rushing through him, he gripped the hilt of his sword which was stuck inside the meteor, pulling the trigger one last time as energy erupted into it, causing it to implode and shatter into smaller pieces. "Look, for your safety I'm asking you to withdraw Lenalee."

"MY safety?" Lenalee burst into laughter as the serpent like beings bit into her arms, fueling her with the same increase in power as before. "And why is that, dear lover?" She wasn't sure how Asami had taken over for a moment, but the idea of them being together slowly became a realistic idea in her subconscious.

Meteos looked at his hand as it shook, suddenly covering his face with his hand as the oversized sword disappeared, summoning his long sword as it appeared on his back while he wore the strap to keep it in place. "Well it's because-" As he looked down, he suddenly flew towards Lenalee, who retaliated with a swipe of her scythe. However, rather than make a counterattack, Meteos shoved Lenalee out of the way as a blast of fire came from below, engulfing Meteos.

Seizing this moment, Lenalee raised her blade and brought it down upon his body, slicing his chest and sending him hurtling towards the temple and crashing through the roof and the lower floors. The temple began to collapse as she watched from above. "Now why would he save me when we're in the middle of a battle?" She asked herself, catching a glimpse of Rayquaza as he swiped his tail at her, sending her flying into the side of a nearby mountain.

"What a shame. And here I thought my two creations would fight each other for my enjoyment." Rayquaza's scales began to turn black as he flew over towards Lenalee, coiling the lower part of his tail around her body and began constricting.

"W-What are you talking a-about?" Lenalee choked, finding it harder to breathe. Even with her increased power, she was clearly no match for the Legendary.

"Oh you don't remember that day? It was all my doing that I made you the three personality monster. Then again, I'm just controlling this empty husk of a Legendary." The silhouette of Shadow Lugia appeared behind the draconic legendary. "After all, Meteos is also one of those affected by me. Isn't that right?"

From down below, Meteos slowly rose up next Rayquaza. His glasses had been destroyed, showing off a pair of blank empty eyes, as if he were under a trance. He didn't say a word as he looked up to the image of the Lugia looking down at him.

"Why don't you tell her what you really feel about her, my Genesect experiment?" Lenalee's eyes widened as the Shadow Legendary began to laugh.

"The…truth?" Holding out his hands, his sword broke into two smaller shapes, forming into two handguns, one of which was black and white and the other silver chrome. "I am a monster." He looked into Lenalee's eyes, the chilling horror of someone who bore such confidence now reduced into a mindless being.

"Meteos is the first Corrupted Knight in creation of all the Knights, and with those guns of his to add onto his already impressive combat abilities, he can conquer every range of fighting. Now, won't you kill this failure for me?" Slightly loosening his grip on Lenalee's body, the legendary watched as Meteos made his way over to the girl.

As she looked up, her serpents bit into his arms as they fueled something new into his body. "Before you kill me…tell me what you thought of me and why you wanted me to be your fiancée."

Glancing at Rayquaza who gave a nod, Meteos slowly pointed the barrel of the chrome gun at her head. "I thought that despite my origins I could find someone who resonated with me and make me find the best of myself. I'll admit, I wouldn't have decided to unleash my soul until I met you. Also.." He pulled the gun away, locking lips with her passionately with her before slowly pulling away. "I thought you were gorgeous when I first laid eyes on you. Out of my league, and someone surely to be sought after by others. However, it seems like our little love story has come to an end."

"Now do it…kill her and I'll help you meet your real parents." The Legendary offered, causing something within Meteos to awaken.

"Sorry, but this was going to happen one way or the other." He pulled the trigger as a beam of ice shot towards Rayquaza's body, freezing its head, causing Lenalee to loosen its grip on her, causing her to fall into Meteos' arms. "I'm not sure what you did when those things bit me, but it seemed to help."

"Y-you idiot. Maybe you are worth keeping around. Or maybe you're a piece of shit just like any other guy." Lenalee joked.

"Still have jokes huh?" He continued pulling the trigger, making sure each shot fully encased the dragon's body in ice. "Well one of us has to win…sooo." Firing a shot into the air, an ear splitting sound filled her ears, knocking Lenalee unconscious and causing her to revert into her regular form. Slowly descending to the ground, Meteos fell to his knees. He'd sustained great injuries and was fighting to stay awake.

"What will you do now? You've nowhere to go and you'll be killed by me. Sounds like your efforts were in vain." The ice began to break apart, releasing the dragon from its prison. With its maw open wide, it began to dive bomb for their location.

Pulling something from his pocket, Meteos crushed it in his hand as a portal opened up beneath the two, falling into it as the opening closed right behind him. Before he lost consciousness, Meteos saw something rise past him. "Jeez, I didn't think you- wait, you're his son. Well, I might as well take you two somewhere safe…I think."

 **(Back in the Arena)**

Everyone aside from the student council left the arena as they watched the rest of the footage, watching a frustrated Rayquaza attack the ground where Meteos and Lenalee were before they were abducted or rescued by an unknown person. Afterwards, the Legendary had been released from the Shadow Legendary's influence, fleeing the scene as a rematch with other Legendaries in its current state would definitely be unfavorable. Harley sighed as her phone began ringing. "Hello? Headm-Director, correct? Yes, I watched it. I was wondering if you knew where they could possibly be….Uh-huh, okay. I'm sure you'll tell us when we get there. Alright." Hanging up the phone, Harley turned to the others as they gave a confused look.

"So, what's our next plan of action?" Leon asked. "We are going to try to save them right? After what we just saw, I'm sure…Director Albarez is it? She should have some sort of rescue plan."

"About that, she's already picked three students who she deemed worthy to go retrieve them."

"And where would that be?" Alyssia asked, huffing in slight disappointment while reaching into her pocket for Dango.

"You might think I'm crazy when I say this, but apparently its an entirely different world." Harley responded. "If you think about it, it's not entirely impossible. Considering Giratina can move about dimensions, I wouldn't be surprised if other worlds existed. But the question is how Meteos was able to call Giratina." As she looked at Leon and Alyssia, they left the arena with an unspoken word. However, the aftermath of that battle left chills down their spine for what could happen next.

 **(Meanwhile)**

Moonlight was shining down on Lenalee as she slowly woke up, groaning in pain as the ringing in her ears was now nothing more than an inconvenience. She found herself resting against a tree as the leaves ever so slightly kept her in the shade. "Ngh. How long was I out?" She said aloud. "Wait, where's Meteos?" Looking around at her nearby surroundings midst the dim light, she suddenly felt weight on her shoulder, turning to see Meteos' head leaning on her.

"Finally awake?" Meteos asked, pulling Lenalee closer to him. Both of them had reverted to their normal states, wearing their normal clothes. However, he had a large cut across his chest that was still fresh. "You know, what was that move of yours that involved those two serpent creatures?"

"Why should I tell you? We're in some strange world and we have no clue what to do next." Lenalee said before she yawned, stretching her arms.

"Well, you did hear all that stuff from our fight. It would only be fair to trade information, especially if I'm going to count on you in the future." He tilted her head towards his. "I understand that our fight was interrupted and I'm more than happy to give you a rematch after we get back home, but right now I really need someone to confide in."

Lenalee could see how anxious he was and it frightened her. She'd never seen this side of him, even before when she had nearly killed him. "O-okay, but don't think of this as me accepting you as my fiancée or anything." Taking a deep breath, she gave Meteos a hug with a blush on her face. "But, maybe you wouldn't be so bad as a lover. After all, you did kinda take a hit for me, so I am a bit grateful about that."

"You're serious? I mean, I was mainly trying to get back at my 'old man' and create a new name for myself, but if you're willing to make this work, so will I. After all, how many times have we kissed now?" Meteos said with a smirk on his face.

"A-anyway, it's my technique called Install. Seeing as how you know about Simca and Asami, I can choose which personality to 'install' into someone by biting them of myself. Hatred and Lust are what I call them."

"So I take it my feelings for you were intensified when you used Lust Install on me and your fighting abilities are amplified when you use Hatred Install on yourself?" Meteos asked.

"Pretty much." Lenalee smiled. "Guess you're pretty smart huh?"

"So…what would happen if you Lust Install on yourself?"

"W-why would I know? I-I've never…you know…" She said, starting to get flustered. Her body was still a bit sore, so it was difficult to even attempt escaping Meteos' grasp.

"I'll stop teasing you for now." He loosened his grip on Lenalee before, closing his eyes. "What Rayquaza…or rather Shadow Lugia said was true: My Soul is corrupt."

"And what does that mean?"

"Remember the whole Genesect experiment he was talking about? Well, because of that, I tend to be a bit more...brutal for lack of a better word and it becomes increasingly harder to resist giving into my innate bloodlust." He stood up and took a few steps away from Lenalee, staring at the star filled sky.

"What? Is there something else you want to tell me?" Lenalee asked with her arms crossed, trying to piece everything together.

"You promise not to tell anyone, correct? I won't spill the beans about your ability and you don't tell anyone about what I'm about to say." He glanced back at Lenalee, getting a nod in return. He turned to face Lenalee, walking over to her and leaned close to her ear as her eyes widened at what he said.

"Shadow Lugia is my father."

 **Don't you love cliffhangers? No? Well too bad. I realize that I've fallen off my initial progress and started powering through Cavalry Academia, but once I get the data I need back I can get back to Sacred Ink or finally start those Origin stories I announced in an earlier chapter. Now seeing as how whenever I post this will be near my birthday, consider this next announcement a present from me to you, the readers.**

 **To those who have sent in and have had their Oc's accepted and to those that haven't or didn't send one in, I'm now going to open up a community for one of two things. The first will entail the next chapters: The Gate Arc. After watching GATE, it made me think of how something of that nature would fit into this story until after a while it started coming together. And with a new arc comes a need for new characters and new ideas, which means I'll be making a new OC form for this particular arc. To give you a good idea of how big this will be, I'm hoping to get at most 20 new characters** **between two factions. This does not include the current 3/6 student OC's nor the 0/4 mentor OC's I've received and accepted. I wanted to get the newer viewers involved or old viewers who want to brush up on their character creation and will prioritize newer submissions. Therefore, I'll post the new form on the community once I finish with it and whatnot.**

 **The second reason for creating a community is to spark conversation amongst each other and discuss your own theories. After reading some of your reviews, I'm interested in hearing what you think might happen next or what one particular thing means and have a reasonable discussion about it. Also, for shits and giggles, I might even make something like a Q &A section…maybe. Not to sure about that one though. You are on the internet and you know how weird some people can be.**

 **Also, I forgot to mention a few things. The Gate Arc will be a bit more romantic in nature, meaning a lot more pairings will ensue, meaning a need for more female OC's. What, you didn't expect me to come up with all of them did you? So, I'll leave you with this one thing to consider: Would you like to see some** **lemons as a result of what's to come? Now I don't mind paraphrasing it and making euphemisms here and there, but if you wanted I could go that route and go the classy mature route. I'll probably set up a poll sooner than later just to keep the reviews clean of unnecessary clutter. As always I hope you enjoyed the chapter, leave a review and if you haven't already don't be afraid to favorite the fic or myself.**


	11. The Intent to Kill

**Hatred/Lust Install: A venom that while usually harmless in nature can be used in different ways based on the user's emotions. When feeling hateful emotions towards someone or a group of people, Hatred Install can be used on an ally or the user to boost their attack, sending into a controlled rage. Likewise, Lust Install can be used on ally or foe to make them infatuated with the user. It's extremely potent when used on someone of the opposite gender, but can also be used on the user for…other purposes. The strength of the venom can be increased, resulting in long lasting effects as well as a longer period of time before another Installation can be made but decreases when used on the user.**

"Shadow Lugia is my father." Meteos said, suddenly meeting Lenalee's face. "Yes, I'm aware that sounds a bit…farfetched but there are a few things that he told me telepathically while we were out."

"And what were those things?" Lenalee asked, trying to stay calm as best she could. Having just learned that her multiple personalities were due to his father's meddling, she was dealing with a whirlwind of emotions.

"Well, that would b-" From the corner of his eye, he saw something fly towards them as their reflexes kicked in, both of them catching an arrow that was aimed for their heads. "Looks like we have company." Clearing his throat, he stood in front of Lenalee. "Show yourselves."

It took a moment before bandits wearing animal skins and cloth armor stepped into the open. Some of them had swords and spears while the archers were still hidden behind the trees and shrubbery.

"How about you guys just retreat and I promise you won't get hurt?" Meteos asked with a calm expression.

"Aww, lookit that. The little bugger is trying to look cool in front of his girly over there." One bandit said, laughing.

"Hey, pretty one. Join us and we'll show you a good time." A second chimed in.

"Much better than this so called man you're with. He looks so weak compared to us." A third taunted.

Meteos simply sighed, starting to laugh along with them until his laugh was the only audible sound, confusing the attackers. "See…now I've got to kill you. I was trying to be nice and not succumb to my bloodlust, but you know what? Fuck it. I'll make sure that the last thing you'll ever see…" He suddenly vanished from his place in front of Lenalee, appearing behind the first bandit with Ragnorak in his hand. "Is my blade." With that, he unsheathed his sword and drove it through the bandit's chest, causing blood to splatter on his clothes, skin and blade. A series of shocked gasps rose as he used his foot to push the bandit off his blood soaked sword.

In a panic, many of the bandits trapped Meteos in a circle and swung their weapons downward at the same time. However, Lenalee saw Meteos get into a particular stance at the last second, holding middle of his sword by the back end of the blade in the palm of his hand, successfully blocking every attack before parrying them. And just as quickly as he blocked that, there was a series of quick slashes before blood sprayed out from each bandit that surrounded him. She wasn't sure how he did it, but he cut through each enemy so clean that must have been effortless.

"Get the girl!" A few bandits tried running towards Lenalee, but watched as she gave a chilling smile before cleaving them in half with her scythe.

"S-she's a monster too! R-Run!" Some of the bandits attempted to flew but were cut off by Meteos who between the last few bandits before sheathing his sword one last time as cuts riddled the air around him, chopping them into small pieces.

Catching his breath, Meteos glanced at his own body before looking at Lenalee's. Both of them had blood on their clothes and bodies, but Meteos had looked like he'd been standing in the middle of a blood downpour. "Did we just kill people without a second thought?"

Lenalee shrugged. "I don't really know. My instincts just kind of kicked in." She wiped some blood off her face.

"Yeah, but why does it feel so…natural? Like my body and mind felt the urge to waste them and now I don't feel a goddamn thing." His sword disappeared, gripping his head as he had sudden flashbacks. "I should care, but I don't. Anyway, let's find some place to get cleaned up.

Lenalee just looked at him. "Uh, sure. But are you really alright, Meteos? You seem to be changing a lot lately. I mean I don't mind it, but normally people feel guilty or feel a bit bad after their first kill…but maybe it's not your first kill after all."

"Is it bad that I can't give you a definite answer to that question?" He slightly turned his head towards her, getting a shrug in response. "Anyway, I'm sure that wherever we are, there's not a single spec of modern technology." Holding out his hand for her, he smiled.

Taking his hand, Lenalee walked with him to find some sort of water source. "So how will we get out of this place? Surely the Director will figure something out like a search party or a rescue team."

"We don't have the luxury of staying in one spot that's not anywhere secluded. I want to say this forest is home to different groups of bandits, so finding some functional city would be ideal."

"You've really thought things through, huh Meteos?" Lenalee asked with a smile.

"Well, the head of the Dezmond family doesn't approve of me and tries to keep me out of any family events whenever possible." Meteos said with clear disdain.

"You don't call him your father?" Lenalee asked. "Then why did you tell me that Shadow Lugia was your father?"

"One, that man has had more than enough time to prove that he cared about me in any way and has chosen not to. Two…it's a bit difficult to explain other than that it's just an odd feeling. A few of my memories seem to be missing or altered at least." Meteos stepped onto the trunk of a fallen tree, helping Lenalee up it.

"Just a feeling, you say? Well, at least you've had it easier." Lenalee sighed as they hopped down from the tree.

"Oh? I take it we're trading troubled pasts now?" He smirked, playfully nudging her arm with his elbow.

"Piss off, Meteos." She said with a laugh as they saw bright lights in the distance. "Hey, I see a town over that way. Think that they'll be surprised to see us all bloodied like this?"

Meteos tapped his chin before smiling. "I've got a cover up story. Here's what we need to do…"

 **(A little later)**

"Someone help us!" Lenalee ran to the entrance of the city with Meteos slowly limping behind her gripping his chest. "Please, someone save my friend he's in need of medical attention!" With tears streaming down her face, that alone convinced the two human guards to help Meteos to his feet.

"What happened? Don't tell me bandits attacked you? I'd have thought people around here would've heard about the possible danger in the nearby forest." One of the guards said.

"We had been running away from our parents who treated us badly. They…didn't approve of our love. We were childhood friends and I refused to marry the person my father picked for me." Lenalee said wiping the tears from her eyes. "B-but then as we thought we were safe, we were ambushed by men. I-I thought we were done for, but he managed to hold them off, but I think one of them cut his chest. P-Please, I don't want him to die."

Meteos was slightly groaning as he was hoisted over someone's shoulder and carried to the town medic. He flashed a look at Lenalee that only she managed to see as the two were headed toward some unknown location. It was a bit of a walk until they completely entered the city. "Hey sir?"

"Yes? Wait, you shouldn't be talking right now. Aren't you injured?" The second guard said.

"Nope, we just needed you to help us get in the city. And thanks for your help." With a well-placed chop to his neck, Meteos knocked out the guard with Lenalee doing the same to the first guard.

"H-Hey…what are you two doing?" A male civilian happened to walk by, noticing the two guards at their feet. "HELP!"

"Time to run huh?" Lenalee asked, getting a nod in response from Meteos as they ran up the wall of a nearby building, running along the rooftops. "So, what do we do now?"

"I say we look for some sort of public bath or lodging. This place seems modern enough with it's lighting, but they don't seem to have anything like we do." Meteos said, looking around him as they paused, seeing a some signs of electricity in the more "urban" part of the city, which was further away. "It's safe to say that we're currently in some sort of settlement outside the downtown area."

"So are you thinking that we should keep running? And what if we get into another fight?"

"We can't kill them. They're just doing their job, protecting the civilians from dangerous intruders. Try your best not to hurt any pursuers too badly, but then again I'm not one to talk." He chuckled.

"I'm surprised at you." Lenalee said, hopping over a gap between two roofs. "I wouldn't have thought that you would be so through in such a small time."

"Well, I'm not the smartest guy around, but when it comes to planning things like this, I've got a scenario covered for every situation…well almost every situation." Meteos scratched behind his head, laughing, following after her.

"And how do you propose that we avoid being seen, Meteos?"

"We blend in with our surroundings." Pointing down at the street below, they could see many gijinka and anthro civilians walking. "Consider it like training. Think about it, haven't you ever wanted to walk around transformed for a while?"

"I mean I have, but before it was always difficult to do so. However, if there's someone who's got a tight hold on my metaphorical leash, it's you. Isn't that right, my dear lover~?" She teased, strutting over to Meteos and leaning her back against his chest as she transformed, her physical appearance changing as well as her clothes. Her skin was free of any blood that was previously on her was gone.

"Well when you put it like that, you almost make it sound like you're on board with marrying me now. I'm sure it's not that easy, silly hydra." He teased back, wrapping his arms around her body as he too transformed, although his clothes had one clear difference than the last outfit he wore. His hair was shaped to the left and had grown longer, bearing a black color that had a red hue to it from the way the light hit it and his jacket was now sleeveless.

"A change in clothes huh? I noticed that you have the soul of a Scizor. Is it safe to say that you've evolved a bit after our fight from earlier?" Lenalee asked, holding onto is hand as they jumped off the building only to slowly float onto the ground below. Their landing surprised a few people, but otherwise went unnoticed or ignored as the began walking in the crowd.

"I suppose you could call it that." He replied with a shrug. Meteos had to admit that they looked like quite the couple from the stares that they got. "It seems like people are interesting in us. Perhaps we should do something about that, shouldn't we?" With a smile, he moved a hand under her chin and leaned in close, kissing her lips for a second before pulling away.

"Hey, I wasn't done with you, lover boy. I haven't agreed to your proposal but I do like this straightforward nature of yours. It's kind of sexy." Holding her arms over his shoulders, she gave a teasing nip to his neck that made his heart skip a couple beats.

It was then when he woke up in an unfamiliar bed, seeing Lenalee in her transformed state as she sat next to his bed before reverting from it. "Oh good, you're awake. I was hoping I hadn't hit you too hard with that uppercut. Oh fun fact, you were talking in your sleep. So I heard a little bit of what you were saying and even toyed with you a bit."

The bedridden Meteos groaned as he sat up , looking at his chest to see that it had no cut on it anymore. "So you actually nipped my neck? I'll admit that's some dedication."

"Well, that was Asami who did that." She replied, nodding her head to the left serpent. "She insisted on teasing you a bit and seeing where that went."

The pain from her uppercut went through his jaw as he grunted. "Jeez, you honestly couldn't hold back a little bit? Anyway, what did you tell them?"

"Long story short, You was escorting me here when we were attacked by bandits. You fought valiantly but were knocked out suddenly, yada yada. You know what happened and now we're here."

Meteos stifled a laugh. "Nice explanation." It was then that he heard movement from the hallway to see a female anthro Manetric and a male anthro Houndoom. They both wore color-coordinated clothes that consisted of lightweight pants as well as a short-sleeved t-shirts with a white armband around their left arms.

"Are you the two that came into the city?" The Manetric asked, glaring at the two of them.

"Yes, ma'am." Meteos spoke, avoiding her eyesight. This was something Lenalee took notice of and used to her advantage.

"Please excuse him. He's a bit shy around new people." Lenalee mused, both her inner personalities giggling at the turn of events.

"Shut up, no I'm not." He made the attempt to lightly push her shoulder, but she moved out the way, his upper body falling off the bed somewhat. "I hate you so much for that."

"And whose fault is it for deciding to run away from home because our love was supposedly forbidden?"

Meteos pulled the rest of his body off the bed, sitting on the ground as he simply sighed before looking up at the Houndoom. "So, how can we help you?"

"For someone to have gotten injured fighting, you seem to be fine. We need you two to come with us for questioning."

"Questioning? What for?" Meteos asked.

"How do we know you aren't our enemy, idiot?" The Houndoom scoffed.

"Piss off, devil dog."

"Back at you, asshole."

Lenalee stood next to the Manetric anthro and giggled. "A bunch of knuckleheads, huh?"

The female anthro smiled. "I suppose. He means well, but he can come off a bit rough around the edges."

"My friend can be a bit difficult at times as well, but that's what makes him so fun to be around." She replied, wondering when the two would stop arguing.

 **(Alternium Academy ICU)**

Rey didn't remember much of the fight while he was unconscious but there was one thing he did remember. A few weeks ago, he walked in on someone dancing and complimented them on their skill. And what a surprise it was when he finally opened his eyes to see that same person sitting beside his bed in the ICU, which partially frightened him after waking up.

"You're finally awake, sleepyhead. The girl said, smiling at him as he lay bedridden. She had long chestnut brown hair that flowed to her waist with two long tufts of hair acting as pseudo pigtails. Looking at her face, Rey could see a single strand of her hair hanging above her head with side swept bangs. Her smooth beige skin complimented her light hazel eyes, which had specks of green within the irises.

"Who are you?" Rey weakly asked, taking a quick glance at her. She looked like a first year student, but outside of that isolated incident he'd never seen or heard her name. "Was there something you needed?"

Simply smiling, the female student clasped her hands together and placed her left hand on his chest. "I'll see you outside in a few minutes." With that, she left, leaving a confused Rey to himself.

"A few minutes? How long does this girl think healing takes?" He mumbled to himself. Sighing, Rey stared at the ceiling for a few seconds only to see a bright light descending down until it landed on his chest, right where her hand had been. Warmth ran through his body as his wounds slowly healed and the fatigue disappeared. Getting off the bed he was on and gathering his belongings, he stepped out the door to meet eyes with her as she promised, leaning on the wall across from the door's entrance.

"Feeling better I take it?" She giggled, taking a step towards him before holding her hands behind her back.

"Of course I would. I've only seen it once but I know what a Wish looks like." Rey said, avoiding direct eye contact with her. "So what did you want to talk about…umm, what is your name?"

"Gwen. Gwen Heartfelt." She replied with a smile. "And after watching that fight between your brother and Lenalee, I've decided that you'll be my future husband." Gwen stood next to Rey, hugging onto his arm with her chest pushed against it.

With Rey being a bit taller than Gwen, he caught a glimpse of how developed Gwen was from a simple touch, sparking a blush on his face. "Wait…WHAT?"

 **(Undetermined City)**

Meteos and Lenalee had been following their two anthro escorts for a while, reaching the more modern part of the city. Their clothes had been washed and air dried in a short time before they left out. As they walked around, Meteos felt a slight chill up his spine like someone was watching them. When he turned around, there was no one that stood out in particular.

"What's the matter, human?" The Houndoom asked, holding his hands in his pockets.

"I feel like we're being followed. Is there anyway we can get to an isolated location in case a fight breaks out?" Meteos looked around, slightly paranoid.

"Please, anyone would be insane to start a fight with the Alliance." The Manetric said with a laugh.

Suddenly, Meteos and Lenalee jumped away as shadows wrapped around the two anthros' feet and bound them before a hooded figure wearing a white and red kitsune mask landed behind them as their heads were cut clean off by the scythe that the person held. It sent the nearby citizens in a panic, fleeing from the two bodies that fell to the ground

"Oh Meteos. Maybe you'll indulge me in a fight now?" A male voice came from behind them while another male walked up next to the masked person.

"What are the odds that him of all people were sent here?" He muttered. "And why'd you kill them, Cyrus? They hadn't done anything…yet, but still." Meteos awaited an answer but got nothing from the mask wearing male.

"I tried to tell them that you were aware of our presence, but no. They didn't want to listen to me." The grey haired male said.

"Well, I appreciate it Ven. I'm glad one of you had some sense." Meteos chuckled.

"Uh, Meteos, how the hell do you know these people?" Lenalee asked, gripping her forehead and sighing.

"They go to our school. Oh, the asshole behind us is Naido."

"That Naido? I heard he got his ass crushed by Harley in his first year. That was a rather interesting one-sided match." She replied with a snicker.

"We were asked to find and regroup at another location, but if you two are being difficult, we'll just have to beat the rebelliousness out of you." Naido said with a smirk, cracking his knuckles. Ven crossed his arms looking uninterested while Cyrus gripped his scythe.

"So…take your pick of an opponent, Lenalee. Looks like we're fighting." Meteos turned around to face Naido while Lenalee stared down the other two. "Of course, I'll take two and you get one if you don't have any issue with that." He said with a grin on his face.

 **As usual, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. We've got four new characters making their debut in this chapter and lots of death. Speaking of which, if you notice the difference in strength between the students and whoever they face, the students will have a vast advantage due to skill and "magical" power. Of course, that doesn't mean everyone is that weak however. There will be some enemies or allies that will prove to be a challenge for even the best students, but that's for later portions.**

 **While I do appreciate those student OCs (4/6 taken), I'm a bit surprised no one has jumped onto the forum I created for discussion amongst yourselves, but it may be my fault on that one. If you want to find the OC form for this particular arc or to participate in the theories/discussion, you can find the link to the forum for all of that on my profile page. But on another note, I really do appreciate all of the support this fanfiction has gotten. It shows how much I've grown as a writer and how much more I've got to improve still. So feel free to leave a review as usual and hold onto the edge of your seats for the next chapter.**


	12. Gateway to madness

**(The Director's office: 30 minutes after incident)**

Director Albarez sat in her chair, looking over three student files. In particular, she had chosen these three as they had no connection to each other aside from being acquaintances or potential rivals with Lenalee and Meteos. "There's nothing more that I hate to see than a student holding back unnecessarily. But who would have thought that he was the one with the trigger on the operation." Director Albarez said to herself before hearing a knock on the door. "Come in." As she expected, three male students walked in. "Naido Okada, Ven Bishop and Cyrus Vermilion, how nice it is to see all three of you."

"We meet again, Lucy. I mean, Ms. Albarez." Naido said, sipping his cup of coffee before running his hand through his messy dark hazel hair with his pale skin tone accentuating his auburn eyes. His 5'10 stature was an average amongst his fellow 3rd year classmates, but what was most remarkable was the look on his face, devoid of any actual interest for the current situation. "I hope I haven't done anything wrong this time."

"You've obviously been here too many times if you're 'accidentally' calling her by her first name." Ven said with a chuckle, sparking one from the Director. Ven stood at 6 feet tall with grey forehead length hair and a pair pure yellow eyes. One particular noticeable feature on his body was the scar across the right side of his neck. "So, what did you call all of us here for? On a regular day, we wouldn't see each other unless we somehow bumped into each other on the way to train."

"Yes, although it must have something to do with the portal that opened up in Arena C, right?" Cyrus said, more interested in the current situation than Naido and Ven were. It was rumored that he was even lazier than Naido and Leon combined, so it was odd to see the 5'7 spiky white haired teenager so alert. It was also rare to see both his eyes open with his grey left eye and his blue left eye staring at the Director, who noted a scar going over his left eye and traveled to his upper lip.

"Naido, keep sipping your coffee. And Cyrus, you are correct. You three have little to no connection with either Meteos and Lenalee, which means the odds of you bringing them back without any sentiment interfering are pretty slim. Hell, it would be more likely that a fight break out between you guys than that happening." The Director smirked as she stood up from her chair. "I task you three to meet up with Meteos and Lenalee. You can either decide to stay there for however long you like, or retrieve them and return here."

Suddenly, Ven and Cyrus fell unconscious and collapsed, leaving Naido was the only one left standing, struggling to stay awake. "Please, this is nothing." His sight went blurry the longer he maintained eyesight with the Director.

"You're definitely nothing like your grandfather, Okada. However, I still see some hope for you. After all, that's the reason why I didn't expel you from that previous incident." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder, slowly draining the energy from him. "But there's nothing wrong with having weakness."

"D-damn it." Naido uttered before he too lost consciousness and fell onto the ground before being picked up by someone with platinum blonde hair, hoisting Ven on their other shoulder.

"I see you two made it. Tell Giratina that the training will begin shortly after I gather a few more students." The Director said, letting out a sigh. "Afterwards, I'm sure you two will take care of the rest?" The two figures nodded their heads as the Director opened a large cabinet door, revealing the portal that had appeared in the Arena prior, tossing them in one by one, sent to an unknown destination before closing the door. "I hope you kids make the right choices once you get to Holtmire." She looked out the window, planning her next move

 **(Present Time: Old Holtmire)**

Meteos and Lenalee were back to back as their three opponents surrounded them. None of them aside from Cyrus had summoned their weapons yet, waiting for the other to make the first move. "It's almost like you're scared to make the first move." Meteos taunted. He could hear Cyrus grip the metal handle of his black bladed scythe covered in red cloth. "Unless you'd prefer that we make the first move." He said with a chuckle.

"Meteos, you know they won't fall for a trick like that." Lenalee said, brushing some of her hair from her face. "Besides, what fun would it be if they have to make the first move?" A purple sphere of energy formed in her hand before she tossed it to their feet, causing a heavy smokescreen to cover everything in a 1-meter radius.

The two ran down a nearby alley, momentarily evading their pursuers while trying to gain some distance between them and the other three. "I'm pretty sure they might all come after me." Meteos said, jumping over a piece of fallen lumber. "Should we move to the rooftops just in case?" Lenalee had already been thinking the same idea as she scaled a nearby wall, easily making her way to the rooftop of a small building. "I'll take that as a yes then." With a smirk, he ran up the side of a wall, catching the ledge in his hands before pulling himself up.

"Seems like they're catching up." Lenalee said, skidding to a stop to stand her ground. Naido, Ven and Cyrus were at least 30 yards away from them and closing in fast. "You promised yourself you would no longer hold back, but are you sure those three can handle it?"

"I appreciate the gesture, but if it means that I have to make them more…subservient for lack of a better word, then I won't hold back. For too long at least." Meteos clenched his fist while staring at Naido, who was the first to make it there.

"At last, you make some effort to want to fight. But how do I really know your heart is in it?" Naido asked.

Meteos simply shrugged. "That's the point; you aren't. And considering what you've done, especially at the Battle Festival, you're not one to question another person about their willingness to fight, Living Shadow?"

"Oh you flatter me. Seems like someone has done their homework. But after seeing your last few fights, my drive has slowly returned to me." Naido said stoically, before pointing at Meteos. "Now, face me!"

"Now hold on, Okada." Cyrus walked up behind Naido, keeping the blade of his scythe in front of Naido to restrict his movement. "We agreed that we would all get a turn to fight him. Knowing you, you'd just hog all the fun."

"Uh, guys. I hope you didn't for get that L-" Meteos started.

"Cyrus is right, Naido. You seemed on board with the idea before we tracked them. Is your personality really getting the best of you?" Ven piped in.

"Meteos is fighting me and me alone." Naido shot back selfishly. Meteos glanced at Lenalee who was slowly growing angrier. Their eyes met for a moment, slowly calming her down but also sharing an unspoken plan.

"You guys must be stupid if you think that you can handle me or Lenalee so easily. See, the difference in experience is very vast here. Between the five of us, only two have fought Harley and lost. But one of those two actually stood a chance, right Lenalee?" Meteos said with a grin.

Lenalee joined in with a smirk of her own. "You're right, Meteos. They might give us a hard time at first, but in the end they'll still lose."

"Don't you two get cocky." Cyrus said from behind his mask.

"What'll you do?" With those words, Cyrus leapt towards Meteos slicing his scythe downwards only to have his blade caught in Meteos' bare hand, which was completely red. It was almost like armor on his skin and his grip seemed to have kept Cyrus from pulling away. "Short temper eh?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Meteos saw Ven run at him as everything seemed to slow down. Subconsciously, his mind was analyzing his second opponent and comparing it to his previous knowledge with the current information he was receiving. When things returned to normal, Ven attacked with well aimed punches and kicks with Meteos blocking any that came within range of his free hand. Waiting for the right moment, Meteos caught Ven's fist, smirking at him.

"Something's changed about you. I'm not sure what it is but it feels like I'm hitting metal. But it doesn't matter now." Ven said before he too smiled. "Naido, he's wide open."

Naido had stepped forward with his shadow rising from the ground, changing its blank dark features to look exactly like Naido before flipping in the air to attack Meteos from above. Its palm struck Meteos in the face, sending his head recoiling back but his body held its ground. "What's wrong? You were all confident before but it seems like you're not as strong as you say."

Meteos began laughing, catching Naido off guard. "I hear that you're quite the smart one Naido. So tell me why it was so easy for me to act as a decoy and draw you three in for a trap?" Lenalee was nowhere to be found in the nearby vicinity, but at least 50 arrows hovered above the area around Meteos, Ven and Cyrus. "I wonder if you guys can transform quick enough before you two are shot full of arrows." With a grin, he took a step forward, redirecting Cyrus' blade and Ven's fist to grab onto their necks and lift them into the air.

A distant snap of someone fingers was heard before the arrows shot down, striking them and creating a large dust cloud as a result. Suddenly, Cyrus and Ven escaped from Meteos' grasp and kept their distance from him, skidding out of the cloud of dust. The only chance in appearance was that Ven wore red armored leg gauntlets that he hadn't had on before, presumably his weapon.

Naido stepped forward, tapping his chin. "You two need to tread carefully. Perhaps we have been underestimating their synergy, but we still have the numbers advantage. Of course, we'll have to get serious if we want to disrupt whatever coordination they have."

Ven and Cyrus looked at each other, nodding before the dust settled, revealing Meteos standing with his arms crossed. "I appreciate the strategy but I thought you guys wanted to fight. Of course, maybe you're just wasting our time." His greatsword fell from the sky, piercing and wedging itself into the ground behind him, before he leaned his back against it. Placing his hand on the middle of the sword, the sword began to hum before the emerald lines in the blade began to glow, with a counter appearing above the sword that showed "20". "Twenty seconds. That's as much time I'll give you to make this much more interesting. So go ahead and transform if you want to get the upper hand while you still can."

Naido grouped up with Cyrus and Ven as a visible aura appeared around all three of them, Ven and Cyrus sharing black aura around them while Naido's was a shade of dark purple before a blinding light encompassed them. As Meteos looked on, he couldn't help but smile.

When the light finally died down, there were three transformed students glaring at Meteos. Ven's grey hair had whitened mostly, with the exception of black streaks and black tips. Also, he wore gauntlets around his arms, the red color drained from the armor only to be replace by a white and black armor coloring. To his left was Cyrus, who wore a black hooded cloak over his body while the mask that covered his face had turned black and red with his scythe's wrappings had come undone up near the blade. And to his right was Naido, who had changed the most appearance and attire wise. His hair turned into a darker shade of indigo and his skin had become ghostly pale with his eyes now bearing a light blue crystal-like coloring and pair of pointy ears. He wore dark violet vest over a light indigo button up shirt with the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, along with a pair of black skinny jean with a white belt around his waist and black dress shoes. Although, the most noticeable things about the transformed Naido was the silver necklace with a ruby attached to it around his neck and the black mouth mask that covered everything from his nose to his chin with a neon violet design of a smile on it.

"I hope you're worth our time, Meteos. After all, we wouldn't want you chickening out on us now would we?" Naido glanced at Ven and Cyrus who began spreading out, soon surrounding Meteos in the middle of them.

Meteos closed his eyes for a second, opening them to see that Naido had disappeared before catching Ven and Cyrus in his peripheral vision. Narrowly dodging their attacks, he stood on the hilt of his sword, balancing himself on one foot. "Definite speed and strength increase. And if I knew any better, Naido would be…" Meteos muttered to himself, glancing at the shadows beneath him only to see a fist come from the left and a blade from the right. Letting himself get hit by Ven's gauntlet covered fist, Meteos grunted in pain from the surprising amount of force but used that to grab onto his sword midair and block Cyrus' scythe with it.

As the two landed on the ground, Naido rose from the ground a few meters behind Meteos and slowly approached him as Cyrus slowly overpowered Meteos midst their struggle. "Keep him preoccupied, Cyrus." From the shadows beneath him, a white scabbard decorated with black crosses with the word "Okada" in black letters along with a small piece of gold rope tied near the opening of the scabbard and a silver cross tied to it. Grabbing the grey oblong shaped hand guard coated in black fur, Naido drew his odachi, a 3' long blade with black stainless steel. Lunging forward, he stabbed Meteos' shadow, causing tendrils to constrict his body and force him to eventually drop his sword.

Meteos was pulled to his knees by his own shadow as Naido lifted his head. "Welcome back, you sneaky bastard. Enjoy watching from the shadows as usual?" He asked with a smirk, before taking a blow to the head.

Naido sighing, holding his face in his palm. "I thought you were going to give us 20 seconds, but you barely last long enough for us to really show our strength. I can't believe I thought you had potential. So I'll make a deal with you: if I release you, you show us that power that's supposedly so strong that we'll stand no chance. If not, I could always knock you out and move on with things. Maybe Lenalee will give us more of a challenge then."

It was then that Meteos began to laugh hysterically. "You're still not grasping the bigger picture here." He lifted his head with a wide grin on his face. "You've met the conditions of my previous requirement. So in return, I'll show you that power, but don't regret it later." He slowly stood to his feet, as he broke free of the shadowy binds, grabbing his sword and using it to vault himself to a safe position on another rooftop. "Hey Lenalee, show 'em what you've had planned all this time."

From beneath their feet, the building the three males stood on was encased in two spiraling pillars of black and purple, destroying the building in the process. Lenalee landed next to Meteos. "Are you sure about this? Especially after you told me everything, I'm a bit worried for you."

"I don't have any other choice now. I forced their hand and now mine has been forced. If they want to see me at full strength, then they'll see it. I don't like to break my promises after all." Meteos said as his transformed before her eyes, his appearance reminiscent of when he faced off against her with the only difference being that his jacket was zipped up. It was then that Naido, Ven and Cyrus landed behind them, dusting the debris off of their clothes. "Here they come."

Lenalee stepped away from Meteos, taking a look at Cyrus. "Hey you, scythe user. I don't appreciate having someone use a scythe in such an improper. Perhaps I should show you how a scythe is really used."

"Neither of you interfere. I'll take her on myself." Cyrus said from behind his mask, distancing himself from his allies. "And we'll see who's got the better technique."

Naido and Ven shrugged, staring down their singular foe. "You know Meteos, I never thought the day when someone weak such as yourself would beat an elite force like Alyssia. However when it comes down to it, you have no clue what you're up against in terms of power. Perhaps you've mastered a certain amount of your strength, but you still can't control all of it, which is why Ven and I have the advantage here." Naido spoke, cracking his knuckles.

Ven stretched his arms. "He is right, Meteos. You're only hurting yourself by rushing into a fight you can't win."

"SHUT UP!" Meteos gripped his head, covering part of his face with his hand. "You know nothing about me. I hate it when people try to tell me what I'm not capable of doing, especially when it's coming from someone who's living in the shadow of their father and grandfather's accomplishments, you disgrace of an Okada." Meteos shot back, glaring at Naido.

For a moment, Ven could see Meteos' eye color change for a brief moment. "Naido, I'm getting a bad feeling about this. Maybe we should rethi-" He started only to see Naido and a shadow run towards Meteos.

"Don't you dare mock my family's name!" Naido's shadow moved to the left while he went to the right, thrusting their blades forward, sinking into his shoulders. However, it was only an afterimage that they attacked, leaving them open to a series of strikes that were unseen to the untrained eye. However, as Naido slid back from what were at least 10 blows that he felt, he could have sworn he saw movement what shouldn't have been possible for anyone to make. He watched from afar as Meteos fought with his shadow, dodging and blocking its odachi with his own sword.

 _"_ _Yes, let that anger course through you and allow me to show you power you've never experienced in your lifetime."_ A voice ran through Meteos' head.

"Get out of my head, damn it." He shouted aloud, cutting Naido's shadow self in half with an overhead cleaving slash, breaking its sword in the process. He winced at the sudden headache he experienced, not noticing Ven moving behind him and striking his back with a fist, sending him into a shroud of ebbing darkness that had a strong gravitational pull.

"Shouldn't have gotten distracted Meteos. Now I've got you in my Noble Art." Ven said as Naido walked next to him as Meteos struggled to escape the pseudo black hole as it sucked him into the ground, forcing the air out of his body gradually.

 _"_ _Well, at this rate you'll lose. Why don't you let me grant you enough power to overwhelm them?"_ The voice asked once more.

"F-fine. Do it…" Meteos struggled to say before falling unconscious. It was then that he burst from the black hole, shattering it as he stood before his two opponents. A dark aura shrouded his body, emanating an evil aura that caught Naido and Ven by surprise.

"H-how'd you escape that? That should have been enough to knock out even the most advanced of Knights." Ven said, clenching his fists.

"It's your own fault for not taking it completely seriously." Meteos said, his voice sounded distorted. "After all, we all have sides to ourselves that we don't want anyone to see. So maybe, if you had the intent to kill me without doing so, you could have prevented what's about to happen soon." Grabbing his blade, he pointed it at Naido and Ven as it began charging up with the hidden barrel rising from the middle of his blade.

"I promised myself I wouldn't do this again, but if it's the only way to get out of this on top…" Ven closed his eyes. "Demonic Guardian, Full Body!" Slowly, a full body suit covered him from the neck down as well as part of his face with a black curved horn angled to the right side of his face.

"Good, get serious. I wouldn't want this to be over too quickly." Meteos glared at Naido. "You too, shadow boy. Don't think I've let you off the hook." He looked over to see Lenalee and Cyrus going at it, their scythes clashing with one another. He could see a grin on her face as she slowly outmatched Cyrus with her own technique, but Cyrus was managing to keep up with her onslaught of attacks.

Lenalee took advantage of her strength, using her scythe with one hand while firing off various attacks with the other. Cyrus had to either dodge or cut through them, leaving him open to a swing of her scythe. Narrowly avoid her attack, he flipped away, landing on his feet before his mask had been cut, revealing his left eye. "Damn, almost got you there." She narrowed her eyes as she could see that his eye was empty but staring directly at her. A trail of dark red was left behind when he moved towards her, suddenly on the defensive as Cyrus had gained some sort of boost in strength.

Meteos gave an evil grin as he gripped his blade. "Things are about to get interesting very quickly."

Unknown to them, the whole battle was being watched in a dimension not too far from the one the others were in. Sitting upon his throne, Meteos' father sat and watched his son tapping his chin. "All it took was a bit of persuading on my part and look at him. He's all ready to crush those who would oppose him. And with a potential wife on his arm too." It was then that a hooded figure entered the room, sparking a wider grin from him. "I take it the spell has finished on those six?"

"Indeed, my lord. Everything shall come into place very soon." The hooded figure revealed themselves, showing Minerva's red hair. "It took a while to erase my existence from everyone's minds except for those who you told me not to."

"Don't forget that persona of being a princess. That took a lot to pull of, my dear Shadow Mewtwo." He stood up, crossing his arms. "When those six are done resting, have them train and send a few of them to this dimension that the Director sent her children to. Soon my foe, we will see who has grown stronger."

 **Many of you have pointed out that the previous chapter seemed to make it a different story and that it felt a bit rushed. Congratulations, it was meant to feel like that. I'll let you in on a little secret: by purposely not delving into things that should have more detail it allows me as a writer to add the"meat and potatoes" in the next chapter. Also, in regards to it feeling like a new story, consider this. This "Gate" arc has many underlying tones as to where a gate leads and what might be on the other side of said gate. Whether it be a realization that the life of a knight is more brutal that they expected or a daunting past that comes to light, it will be up to them how they deal with it and decide whether this is the right path for them as well as what they'll be fighting for in the future.**

 **Well, my little rant aside, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Also, I'm still in need of those Gate arc OC's and it'll be difficult for me to continue with the story if I don't have a few key players.**


	13. Hidden Truths

Minerva had left the throne room where her master sat, watching his son fight against his classmates. But she knew the actual truth, that Shadow Lugia, who was hellbent on possessing Meteos, only possessed the dark haired man that was his father. After all, Meteos held a fragment of the Shadow Legendary's power within him, and she saw the potential that could be achieved once he got a little push in the right, or in this case wrong direction. After a bit of walking, Minerva finally reached the Incubation room, where the six modified humans had gotten themselves dressed in clothes provided to them earlier. "It's time you six trained to get familiar with these new powers of yours. And don't worry about trying to find a training room, you'll instinctively know." As five of the six left the room, one stayed behind glaring at Minerva. "Got something you want to say?"

He stood up, walking towards her before stopping, glancing down at her frame. He easily towered over her by half a foot, but something about her kept him from doing anything stupid. "You said that if we helped you, then we would reach our goals together. But this…wasn't what I expected. To become the one thing I despise, is that the only possible way?" He seemed to soften slightly, frustrated with himself.

"Jason Santos, think about that power rushing through your veins. That should answer your question." She turned her back to exit the room.

"And what about my son?" He asked.

"Little Javier? Oh, you'll get your revenge soon enough." Minerva turned her head with a grin on her face, sparking one on Jason's.

 **(Alternium Academy)**

"Rey, it seems you've been busy." Dax said with a chuckle, tossing an apple into the air and catching it. The two stood in a hallway, joined by Gwen, who sat next to Rey while snuggling his arm, Bucky, and Angelo.

"I swear I didn't do anything other than exist." Rey said with a blush on his face, scratching the back of his head with his other arm.

"You didn't have to, Rey." Gwen responded, sparking him to blush more.

"Aww, look at the cute couple." Bucky teased.

Angelo stepped towards Rey, giving him a pat on the back. "Yer takin' a nice step to bein' a man." He said, his kansai accent as thick as ever.

It was then that Rey noticed the amount of bandages and wraps on both Bucky and Angelo. "Aren't you two in a serious amount of pain right now? I heard that they don't give out painkillers here."

"The Director wants us to use pain as a training method. Although we may have advanced healing, if we can manage to continue fighting through pain, then it will only make us better in the field when the time comes."

Angelo nodded in agreement. "Well put, tough guy. Most of ma' life was spent fighting, so I've come to expect pain as easily as breathin'."

"After all, those of use who decide to become Knights or want to protect others have all understood that pain or the loss of our lives could occur once we enter the profession. That being said, what was your reason for wanting to come here Rey?" Gwen asked, resting her head against the wall behind her.

Rey took a step away from the group, sighing. "For one, I wanted to help my brother in any way that I could. It seems selfish, but my brother has been in the shadow of others for as long as I've been alive. My father won't go into it but he despises Meteos so much so that anyone in the family can treat him as they see fit, even going so far as ganging up on him when he tried to train with me. So I wanted to be that pillar for him, but ever since I came here, that gap seems to be growing larger." He turned to look at all of them. "I'm honestly afraid that he'll forget about the family member that cared for him."

"That's nothing to worry about." Harley began walking up behind him with her arms crossed. "It means that you'll have to get stronger if you want to catch up to him. You'll have to become more confident and direct than you are now however in order to catch up to him. And that goes for everyone here, especially if you have any hopes of trying to compete with me." She gave a small giggle.

"Well, when ya put it like that, it sounds like a challenge worth working towards." Angelo said with a smile on his face.

"I'm always up for it, Harley. However, I've got a couple people I need to schedule rematches with first before asking to battle you." Bucky said

"Looks like we're all here." Leon said, with Allison, Javier and Alyssia behind him. He knocked on the door nearby. It slowly opened, revealing a conference room with Director Albarez sitting at the head of the table. Everyone took a seat, with Harley and Leon sitting on either side of the Director.

"I'll get right to the point with this. I'm sure you all remember the fight between Meteos and Lenalee and when Rayquaza revealed himself, the transmission cut off…at least for some people." Director Albarez sighed, standing up from her chair. "Shadow Lugia has returned."

Many of the students let out gasps of surprise while Harley and Leon held their composure. It was then that Harley raised her hand and slowly ran a hand through her red hair. "And what's this Genesect Project that was mentioned?" She asked.

"As far as I can remember, Genesect was a myth until he was freed from his fossilized prison by Shadow Lugia and had been dealt with by one of the other five Knights. I can only guess that his power was transferred to Meteos by force without him knowing once he was old enough to merge with its power."

"That still doesn't tell us where Lenalee and Meteos went." Dax said, holding his hands together.

"This was meant to be a training method somewhere along the road, but currently they are in a universe not too far from our own that is full of conflicts between two opposing powers." The Director crossed her arms, her blue hair resting neatly on her shoulders. "This universe actually coincides with our own history, so it's impossible to know whether or not any additional interference will change the course of history."

"So our interference could change the world as we know it?" Harley asked, directing a serious look to Director Albarez.

"At most, it'll only affect this region and not its people. But I can't quite be sure." She responded.

"So what are we supposed to fix in this universe?" Alyssia asked, hoping the Director would get to the point.

"Well, some time will pass between this world and the next, so many months may pass but it might only be as if you were gone a few days. And as for the objective, you're to either help one side win this war or find an alternate solution in which both sides can work together. However, be warned, as there are many formidable warriors, some of which you might have to kill." Director Albarez glanced at all the students at the table. "Consider this the next test in your knighthood training."

It was then that Allison stood up. "Basically, you're sending us to get the five students sent into this universe where our decisions may influence the current world we live in. Isn't that a bit much to put on a bunch of students, especially for Gwen and Rey?"

"When you go down this path of a Knight, you're forced into making your own choices and standing by them, whether it be fighting to stay alive or to protect or just to enjoy battle. As long as you don't lose sight of what's truly important to you."

The group nodded, taking her words to heart. It was a few moments before suddenly, the students began to fall unconscious one by one until only Leon, Alyssia and Harley were left. "Wha-"

Suddenly, two figures walked behind Director Albarez; a female with lengthy platinum blonde hair that was all too familiar and a raven shoulder length haired male whose left side of his face was covered by his bangs. "We meet again, Ms. Vanderbelt and Mr. Age. Greetings to you as well, Ms. Blake." The female spoke.

"Y-you're Xila aren't you?" Leon stammered, surprised to see her once again.

"The hell kind of name is that?" Alyssia asked nonchalantly, Harley half expecting the platinum blonde to reprimand her for such a rude comment.

The female chuckled as the male sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Is that really the best you could come up with sister? I swear, you lack creativity sometimes." He shook his head in disappointment at her.

"I'm entrusting you three to take charge or guide the rest of the group towards making this world as close to as history is supposed to play out." The Director walked over to a sleeping Javier, placing something on his wrist that suddenly was absorbed into his body. "Now get some rest you three. You won't all be together as a group, but if things happen like I believe they will, then you'll all meet each other soon." She gave a slight grin as the final three students were forced into unconsciousness.

The platinum blonde approached the Director. "Are you sure about this? It seems you're making some rather bold choices just because of some stupid bet that was made years ago."

The Director turned her head to meet the platinum blonde's concerned gaze as the portal was opened by the raven-haired male. "In order to kill Shadow Lugia once and for all, I have to take these risks. After all, part of this plan is foolproof, but it'll definitely take a lot of work on your end."

"Is this about the time we-" The male started.

"You're damn right it is. You almost destroyed the fucking world if it weren't for Giratina and I. As the two beings that control time and space, I expect you two to act your age. With Rayquaza suddenly missing, the Hall of Origins has been working overtime to keep things in balance." She responded, a golden glow surrounding her body as she furrowed her brow in slight annoyance.

"As you wish, Arceus." The two spoke simultaneously.

 **(Outskirts of Old Holtmire)**

The battle led them to the entrance of the city and raged on into the neighboring forest. Cyrus had been nothing but a blur as he weaved between the trees with the only indicator of his position was the glowing red trail his eyes gave off from behind the mask he wore. Lenalee was managing to keep up with his movements somewhat, but she was essentially forced into fending off his attacks.

"Surely this isn't the strength of someone who was the second strongest in the school? Or maybe you've gotten weaker since you've spent time away?" Cyrus' voice was resounding. "Or have you actually fallen for Meteos when he beat you?"

Lenalee stopped for a moment, gripping the rod of her scythe as the serpent beings from her back seemed to rear their heads in anger. "You'd dare mock me and my strength? And here I thought holding back would at least make for an entertaining fight. But since you don't fear me like you should, I'll instill that fear back into you." She heard movement from behind her as Cyrus swung his own scythe, the blade catching the light of the crescent moon behind him. As that blade grew closer, time seemed to slow as the serpents bit into her arms. "Simca, you're up."

In a split second, Lenalee's body was shrouded in a menacing aura. Cyrus' instincts went off but it was too late for him to maneuver his body as Lenalee easily ducked under his attack and grabbing his ankle, throwing his body to the ground with relative ease. He silently grimaced as he leapt backwards to his feet, trying to distance himself from her only for his back to hit Lenalee's.

"You're nothing like Harley, Cyrus. You might be good for a warm up, but you wouldn't last more than a few minutes. Now Harley, she's a worthy adversary…someone I regret holding back against." She let out a chuckle, forcefully turning his body to face her as she pulled her left arm back, suddenly overexerting her muscles as she caught Cyrus in the chest, sending him through a couple of trees before leaving a deep indent in the third tree. "There are only two people worth defeating: Harley and Meteos. But that bastard Meteos is the one who I really want to kill the most." Lenalee, or her anger driven personality Simca, gave an evil grin before stabbing her weapon into the ground, aiming her two hands at Cyrus as she fired off a Dark Pulse and Focus Blast, the two attacks combining with each other as the sphere neared him.

"I-I refuse to lose to you. Not after everything I've gone through!" He was kneeling from the force of her previous attack, glancing up to see her next attack making its way towards him. Gathering enough energy, he slammed his palms on the ground, causing a sudden burst of dark energy to explode outwards, clashing with Lenalee's attack and resulting in a large discharge of power as the trees around them were blown apart by such immense forces.

Meanwhile, Meteos had been keeping up with Naido and Ven, whose attacks became more relentless since they entered this forest. While simply dodging and making sluggish swings with his blade, cleaving through the trees that were in the way, Meteos purposely taunted his two adversaries with his nonchalant gaze and a smirk on his face, but as a result took some significant damage from them. Skidding back, he noticed that they were beginning to slow down, Ven more than Naido.

"What's wrong Ven?" Naido said from behind his mask, slightly glancing at his ally from the corner of his eye.

Ven winced, gripping the side of his head as if he were experiencing a headache. "I'm close to my limit here."

"Guess I have no choice then." It was then that Naido sunk into the ground before signaling Ven to make a move.

"Hmm? What are you planning?" Meteos muttered to himself, trying to stay alert before noticing Ven running towards him. Metal clashed with metal as Meteos tried to block each strike from Ven, realizing he was more adept at martial arts than he, finding his legs somehow getting swept and his large sword being knocked away. "Ngh, what the hell?"

It was Naido, using the shadows of the trees to trip him up while also disarming him. As he slowly stood up, the red haired male could barely react as his own shadow bound him once like before as a dark void appeared beneath his feet.

From where he stood, Naido snapped his fingers before several copies of himself surrounded the trapped Meteos with their Odachi drawn, suddenly becoming nothing but blurs of neon violet and light crystal blue as they leapt from shadow to shadow, cutting away at him with what could have been hundreds of strikes, cutting through the armor like skin of his and splattering his blood on the ground and nearby trees.

When it finally ended, Meteos had fallen to his knees and slumped over, his face looking towards the ground. As Naido took a step forward, Ven had fallen to a knee, the full body armor that he wore disappearing, leaving him in his regular school attire. "That's it…10 minutes is my current max." He said, heavily panting.

Naido walked to where Ven was, helping him to his feet. "It should be over now." Helping him over to a tree, Naido let Ven rest before going to check on Meteos. However, Meteos' head had slowly risen with a grin on his face.

"Checkmate." It only took a split second before Meteos moved at such a speed that he closed the distance between them, striking the Sableye gijinka in the stomach before a flurry of delayed attacks followed the first, sending him recoiling towards a tree next to Ven.

"H-how?"

Just as he was about to speak, another body was tossed to Naido's feet, the hooded Cyrus who had been knocked around senseless by the approaching Lenalee. "Now that we don't have any interruptions, tell me why." She spoke, the venom in her voice clearly vocal.

"Oh, so it's you." Meteos turned to look at the sky before glancing at Naido, Ven and Cyrus before meeting her gaze. "Are you sure you want the truth? It'll be nothing you want to hear."

The Hydregion gijinka walked towards the somewhat bloodied Scizor gijinka, aiming her scythe for his neck. "If I don't like the answer, I'll end up killing you anyway."

He sighed as his form returned to normal, feeling the sharp edge of her scythe pressed against his skin. "You wouldn't be the first one who wanted me dead. The man who tried to be my father wouldn't mind if I was killed."

Lenalee tilted her head slightly. "I thought the head of the Dezmond family, was your father. After all, isn't Rey your brother?" She asked, not putting the pieces together.

"Rey is my brother…hell, he's been the closest thing to family I've had since. But Rey's father is not my father."

"Wait…so that means." Naido spoke up, coughing slightly.

"I'm adopted. I was the offspring of two people who shouldn't have gotten together." Meteos said solemnly.

Lenalee lowered her weapon. "Well that doesn't explain why you've started calling me your fiancée." She crossed her arms, slight anger still clear in her eyes.

Meteos sighed, clenching his fists. "I overheard my 'father' talking with someone else in person about marrying off their failure children. And that other man, after doing my research, was your father."

Her eyes widened. "What? He told me that he'd stop trying to marry me off years ago, but that was when I had just entered the Academy."

Ven let out a slight groan, the pain in his head clearing but left his body drained of energy. Looking around him, he saw Naido and Cyrus nearby along with a conversing Meteos and Lenalee. _I guess the fighting's over…but why did I have that memory?_ He thought to himself.

"So wait, you two are actually getting married?" Naido asked from his spot, keeping up with their conversation.

"Well, its up to her, but I was thinking we'd get as much money as we could out of our shitty families for abandoning us the way that they did and become roommates. Besides, there's no way that you'd actually want to get married in this way, right?"

Before Lenalee could respond, Meteos let out a pain filled scream as his body was filled with an intense burning sensation. _"It's time, my future host. Discard your old life and create a new one."_ The same voice from earlier rang through his head. He struggled towards where his sword was lodged upright in the ground.

He began slamming his head against the side of the large sword. "GET. OUT. OF. MY. HEAD!" Each word accented his forehead hitting the steel before he finally knocked himself out.

 _"You can't run from your past. After all, it was your mother and father that caused this. If they had only listened, then maybe I wouldn't-"_ Those were the last words he heard before the back of his head hit the ground, faintly seeing four figures running towards him.

 **Whew, this one took a while with me starting school and managing work as well, but I finally did it. I tried to get in a bit more backstory than usual, so let me know if you preferred this to how I usually write. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and don't forget to check the forum link on my profile if you wanted to check out the latest OC form if you were interested in submitting more characters.**


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